MAKING AS A WINDOW INTO THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A TEACHER: The Case of Moira

The process of becoming a mathematics teacher is one that entails the development of an integrated base of teacher knowledge. A considerable body of research has been undertaken to identify the knowledge that is essential to effective mathematics teaching and to determine how it could be developed. In this chapter, we aim to make a contribution to this body of research by accounting for the essential role of the knower’s situated and agentive interactions with the social, material, and conceptual artifacts that mediate such knowledge development. We do so through a revelatory case study of one prospective teacher named “Moira” as she participates in a constructionist Making experience within a specialized mathematics content course for future elementary teachers. Using both cultural-historical activity theory and figured worlds perspectives, we took a novel approach to the analysis of a range of interactions that mediated Moira’s design activity. This analysis of three “moments of becoming” on Moira’s trajectory demonstrates the methodological value of this analytic approach by revealing the blended nature of knowledge and identity that constitutes learning in and through collective social practice. In addition, these findings establish the theoretical value of framing Making as mediated learning and offer empirical evidence of the formative power of the Making experience not only for the development of Moira’s mathematical, pedagogical, and design knowledge, but also for her identity as a mathematics teacher. We conclude the chapter by considering the implications of these findings for teacher preparation coursework and proposing future directions for research.