The Role of ICT in Supporting the Development of Professional Knowledge during Teaching Practice

Source: Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, Vol 14, No 2, 2012

In this study, the authors analyse the contribution of a teacher education setting based on ICT (email and forum) in developing professional knowledge of one prospective mathematics teacher, looking especially at tasks and forms of communication.
Data were collected through interviews and the documentation generated in the teacher education setting.

The results show that, in addition to exercises, the prospective teacher began to suggest more open and challenging tasks, and to promote contributive communication in his classroom. In planning his lessons, the prospective mathematics teacher’s professional knowledge showed improvement in the diversity of tasks that he adopted, in the attention he gave to student activity, in the adequacy of instructional materials that he used, and in the forms of communication that he promoted, which involved more students in the classroom activities. By reflecting on his actions, he developed his ability to gather information about his practice, how to interpret it, question it, and reshape it. The reconstruction of particular parts of the practice helped the participant to expand his professional knowledge and to see practice as a source of learning to teach.