Studying mathematics teachers’ design of tasks inspired by authentic practices

Abstract

This paper reports a case study research aiming to explore the potential of authentic workplace situations in mathematics teaching in upper secondary classes. For this purpose, seven teachers participated in a group aiming to connect the teaching and learning of mathematics with the marine navy context (ship navigation). We use the notion of the mathematical working space to compare the tasks designed by two of the teachers for their lessons inspired by authentic ship navigation practices. The results indicate substantial differences of the two designed working spaces in terms of their semiotic, instrumental and discursive dimensions.