Subject-Related Professionalization of Out-of-Field Mathematics Teachers

Retrospective Self-Assessment of Expertise in Dealing with Difficulties in Learning Mathematics in Early Primary School Teaching

Abstract

Due to the increased demand for teachers in primary schools in Germany, teachers have increasingly been employed to teach mathematics outside of their subject areas for several years. To ensure the quality of teaching it is required to qualify them for this task. This article presents a teacher training for “diagnosis-guided mathematics teaching in primary school” developed within the German Centre for Mathematics Teacher Education (DZLM) using the example “From counting to calculation”. It discusses its effectiveness based on teachers’ retrospective self-assessment regarding their acquired expertise which was collected by a questionnaire. Evaluation shows that participants rate the teacher training as effective. In particular, teachers’ knowledge about the fundamental importance of verbalization in mathematics lessons shows a high increase. Furthermore, in their retrospective self-assessment teachers perceive their ability to adapt as increased, but rate it lower in relation to other facets of competence.