| 1. |
- Andrews, Paul, 1954-, et al.
(author)
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PISA, TIMSS and Finnish mathematics teaching : an enigma in search of an explanation
- 2014
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In: Educational Studies in Mathematics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0013-1954 .- 1573-0816. ; 87:1, s. 7-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Finnish students’ success on all three content domains of each of the four cycles ofthe OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has created muchinternational interest. It has also prompted Finnish academics to offer systemic explanationstypically linked to the structural qualities of Finnish schooling and teacher education. Lesswell-known has been the modest mathematics performance of Finnish grade 8 students on thetwo Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in which Finland hasparticipated, which, when compared with its PISA successes, has created something of anenigma. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on this enigma through analyses of Finnishmathematics classroom practice that draw on two extant data sets—interviews with Finnishteacher educators and video-recordings of sequences of lessons taught on standard topics. Dueto the international interest in Finnish PISA success, the analyses focus primarily on theresonance between classroom practice and the mathematical literacy component of the PISAassessment framework. The analyses indicate that Finnish mathematics didactics are morelikely to explain the modest TIMSS achievements than PISA successes and allude to severalfactors thought to be unique to the Finns, which, unrelated to mathematics teaching practices,may be contributory to the repeated Finnish PISA successes. Some implications for policyborrowingare discussed.
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| 2. |
- Bengtsson, Anna
(author)
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When mathematics teachers focus discussions on slope : Swedish upper secondary teachers in a professional development initiative
- 2014
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The shift towards collegiality is a new setting for many teachers. Most teachers work alone, in isolation from their colleagues and collegial collaboration requires organisational structures. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse upper secondary mathematics teachers’ collective practice,developed in a professional development initiative. This study is a case study and the empirical data is generated through observations and an interview of a group of four teachers at a school who met on a weekly basis throughout a term. Their discussions focused on the mathematical concept of slope in a setting of learning study. This thesis is the case of when mathematics teachers focus discussions on slope and draws on Wenger’s Communities of Practice Perspective, as a unitof analysis, and addresses the question: What are the characteristics of practice when upper secondary mathematics teachers focus discussions on slope in the setting of a learning study? The analysis accounts for characteristics of the aspects of practice, through the coherence of mutual engagement, joint enterprise and shared repertoire in the community of practice. The teachers are engaged around finding small changes in their teaching that could give major effect in students learning. They negotiate what the students need to know in order to understand the relation between Δy and Δx. The characteristic of practice is a conceptual mapping of the concept of slope. It reveals students’ partial understanding of related concepts due to how they were given meaning through previous teaching. The conceptual mapping of slope goes back as far as to the student’s partial understanding of the meaning of subtraction. However, what emerges is in relation to the teachers’ experience of avoiding students’ difficulties with negative difference when teaching slope. It turns out to be a negotiation and a renegotiation of teaching slope for instrumental understanding or conceptual understanding. An overall characteristic of practice is that it develops in a present teaching culture.
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| 3. |
- Berg, Benita, 1976-
(author)
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Lgr11 – stöd eller begränsning? : Lärares röster om styrdokument och reformens påverkan på deras matematikundervisning
- 2014
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis examines teachers’ voices on the latest curriculum reform and how teachers experience the impact of the reform on their teaching. The aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about the conditions of the implementation of a new reform and how the reform controls and empowers teachers’ teaching. I examine the issue using the concepts from curriculum theory and implementation theory as well as visible and invisible pedagogy. Primary school teachers, Grades 1-3 (n=224) within an entire municipality responded to an extensive questionnaire concerning their relation to the reform. The questionnaire was developed from qualitative interviews and questionnaires with open questions. The new curriculum reform tends towards increased control but the results show that the majority of teachers consider both the curriculum and the national examinations for Grade 3 as a support in their teaching and assessment. Most teachers express that the recent curriculum increases their professionalism. Yet there is a tension between positive and negative experiences of the reform, as some teachers express that the new curriculum and the national tests limit their professional freedom while other teachers express that they would like even more detailed support and guidance. There are also teachers who think it is too early to introduce goals, in the form of knowledge requirements and national tests, because it violates the students’ right to develop at their own pace based on their prerequisites. Further, most teachers in the study state that they have been affected by the goals and the national tests, but at a school level a common plan in mathematics and routines to discuss the goals of mathematics education is often lacking. The study also shows that national tests are not used in order to improve the mathematics results of the whole school. The factor analysis shows that there are differences between teachers’ voices depending on their age, their teaching experience, and if they are graduated before or after the reform of 1994. The different expressions can be linked to teachers’ voices of teacher professionalism, of student learning and maturity. The results of the study are of interest for various actors at different educational levels like politicians, curriculum authors and principals. By taking part of the study they have the opportunity to gain more knowledge of how to create good conditions to support teachers to enact the curriculum in their classrooms.
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| 4. |
- Berg, Benita, et al.
(author)
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Support or Restriction : Swedish Primary School Teachers' Views on Mathematics Curriculum Reform
- 2015
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In: Views and Beliefs in Mathematics Education. - Wiesbaden : Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. - 9783658096144 ; , s. 67-80
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper reports the results of a quantitative study on primary teachers' (n=253) views on the introduction of steering documents and national examinations for Grade 3. While the majority of the teachers experience the reform as empowering, some teachers feel the new curriculum and the national examination restrict their teacher professionalism. We found differences in how teachers viewed the reform depending on whether they had graduated before or after the reform in 1994. The differing views can be connected to teachers' beliefs about teacher professionalism and the relation between teaching, learning and maturing. We discuss our findings also in the light of curriculum development during the last four decades.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Bergwall, Andreas, 1972-, et al.
(author)
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The State of Proof in Finnish and Swedish Mathematics Textbooks : Capturing Differences in Approaches to Upper-Secondary Integral Calculus
- 2017
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In: Mathematical Thinking and Learning. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1098-6065 .- 1532-7833. ; 19:1, s. 1-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Students’ difficulties with proof, scholars’ calls for proof to be a consistent part of K-12 mathematics, and the extensive use of textbooks in mathematics classrooms motivate investigations on how proof-related items are addressed in mathematics textbooks. We contribute to textbook research by focusing on opportunities to learn proof-related reasoning in integral calculus, a key subject in transitioning from secondary to tertiary education. We analyze expository sections and nearly 2000 students’ exercises in the four most frequently used Finnish and Swedish textbook series. Results indicate that Finnish textbooks offer more opportunities for learning proof than do Swedish textbooks. Proofs are also more visible in Finnish text-books than in Swedish materials, but the tasks in the latter reflect a higher variation in nature of proof-related reasoning. Our results are compared with methodologically similar U.S. studies. Consequences for learning and transition to university mathematics, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.
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| 7. |
- Biza, I., et al.
(author)
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Communities in university mathematics
- 2014
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In: Research in Mathematics Education. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1479-4802 .- 1754-0178. ; 16:2, s. 161-176
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper concerns communities of learners and teachers that are formed, develop and interact in university mathematics environments through the theoretical lens of Communities of Practice. From this perspective, learning is described as a process of participation and reification in a community in which individuals belong and form their identity through engagement, imagination and alignment. In addition, when inquiry is considered as a fundamental mode of participation, through critical alignment, the community becomes a Community of Inquiry. We discuss these theoretical underpinnings with examples of their application in research in university mathematics education and, in more detail, in two Research Cases which focus on mathematics students' and teachers' perspectives on proof and on engineering students' conceptual understanding of mathematics. The paper concludes with a critical reflection on the theorising of the role of communities in university level teaching and learning and a consideration of ways forward for future research.
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| 8. |
- Biza, Irene, et al.
(author)
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Communities in university mathematics
- 2014
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In: Research in Mathematics Education. - 1479-4802 .- 1754-0178. ; 16:2, s. 161-176
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 9. |
- Braskén, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Implementing a Multidisciplinary Curriculum in a Finnish Lower Secondary School : The Perspective of Science and Mathematics
- 2020
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170. ; 64:6, s. 852-868
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Finland has recently reformed the national school curriculum, basing it on so-called twenty-first century skills. The curriculum prescribes that schools must organise at least one multidisciplinary learning module per year. In this case study, we investigate the implementation of such a module in secondary school (grade 9) from the perspective of the school headmaster and science and mathematics teachers. The data comprise interviews with the headmaster, teachers, and protocols from collegiate meetings. Despite some gains experienced by teachers concerning cooperation with colleagues, the results reveal challenges connected to diffusely defined learning goals, as well as to the vagueness of goals concerning the role of different subjects in the module. The study shows the importance of offering research-based support and time for shared sensemaking for stakeholders to avoid the problems identified when implementing multidisciplinary teaching.
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| 10. |
- Bråting, Kajsa, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Development of algebraic thinking : opportunities offered by the Swedish curriculum and elementary mathematics textbooks
- 2019
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In: Nordisk matematikkdidaktikk, NOMAD. - 1104-2176. ; 24:1, s. 27-49
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In search of the reasons for Swedish students’ low achievement in algebra in inter-national and national evaluations, we investigate how the development of algebraic thinking is addressed in the Swedish national mathematics curriculum and two widely used mathematics textbook series for grades 1–6 in Sweden. The analytical tool used is based on the classification of ”big ideas” which research has shown as important for developing pupils’ algebraic understanding in early school grades. The results show that functional thinking, expressions, and equations are well represented topics both in the curriculum and the textbooks; however generalized arithmetic is a topic that is poorly developed in both the curriculum and the textbooks.
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