Mathematics Teachers Convert Textbook Tasks to Dynamic Ones: How Changing the Problem Architecture Enhances Teachers’ Tpack

Abstract This study is based on an assignment given to 18 teachers enrolled in a master's degree program for teaching elementary school geometry using technology. The assignment was to transfer a task they selected from the textbook to a dynamic geometry environment by designing widgets to illustrate the concepts that the textbook was aiming to teach. Following this, they were to determine whether presenting the problem dynamically highlighted or offered new mathematical concepts, which could then be exploited by posing new problems. The author utilized qualitative analysis to follow the process the teachers underwent and ascertain what, if any, contribution it made to their TPACK (technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge). Data included the assignments themselves, reflections submitted by the teachers at the end of the assignment, and the author's observations. The findings indicate that the act of converting a textbook geometry problem to a dynamic one led teachers to ‘notice' interesting processes and data on the dynamic screen that they had not noticed from the textbook task, leading them to formulate problems appropriate for the dynamic environment and, as a result, develop their TPACK.