The specialized knowledge of middle school teachers concerning the concept of function

Abstract

This study presents research focusing on in-service mathematics teachers and their approach to tasks aimed at developing of functional thinking. The analysis is based on the model of The Mathematics Teachers' Specialised Knowledge -- model MTSK by Carrillo et al. (2018). The research question is the following: What ``specialised knowledge'', in the sense of the MTSK framework, is revealed when a~middle school teachers solve and discuss the selected tasks? The research was conducted with 9 teachers, who voluntarily participated in the professional development. The teachers solved a~set of 30 tasks that were selected with a~focus on 4 aspects of the concept of function, different representations and transitions between them and different actions that learners engage in the task solving. In this study, we analysed the teachers' written solutions and the discussion with the teachers about a~particular task. Reflecting on their work as learners was very important in moving from dealing with the mathematics itself to shifting to developing their knowledge of mathematics teaching (KMT) and knowledge of features of learning mathematics (KFLM) in terms of the MTSK framework. The results helped us to identify gaps in teachers' specialised knowledge and consequently will help us to improve professional development courses for both in-service and pre-service teachers.