From a classroom situation to teacher interaction: a multilayered conceptualization of representations of practice for mathematics teacher learning

Source abstract

Abstract Representations of practice serve as fundamental tools in professional learning, including the professional learning of mathematics teachers, enabling them to reflect on their practice outside of classrooms. This paper suggests a new conceptualization of representations of practice for teacher learning by naming and distinguishing five interconnected layers: the teaching–learning situation being represented, the medium through which it is represented, the artifact selected or created, the prompts guiding teacher engagement with the artifact, and the resulting teacher interactions . We argue and illustrate how this conceptualization suggests a more nuanced terminology to discuss the affordances of representations of practice and where these affordances emerge from, both in relation to the artifacts themselves and to the pedagogical activity, they are involved in. We conclude with implications for research and practice as the field continues to develop innovative forms of representations of practice.