Use of information and communication technologies in mathematics education lecturers : implications for preservice teachers

Abstract

The availability and use of educational resources in classrooms has increased remarkably; however, preservice teachers graduate from initial teacher education institutions (ITEIs) and join the profession without the skills for teaching in these new learning environments. This qualitative study was conducted in four South African public ITEIs. It is aimed at examining mathematics lecturers’ integration of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into teaching and its implications for preservice teachers’ readiness to teach in contemporary classrooms. Individual interviews were conducted with 12 mathematics education lecturers and 20 fourth-year students in five focus groups. The findings revealed that whilst the lecturers had some knowledge of how to teach with digital technologies in lecture rooms, they did not model specialised mathematics teaching skills to their students. Informed by activity theory, this study identified institutional gaps in the implementation of digital technologies for teaching. Institutions seemed to view access to technology as sufficient for effective use by lecturers. Initial teacher education institutions should therefore establish and regulate structures that equip and support lecturers with desired ICT pedagogical skills if preservice teachers are to be prepared for the modern classrooms. Transdisciplinarity Contribution: This research contributes to literature on the use of ICTs in Initial Teacher Education. Although it focuses on Mathematics Education, its findings demonstrate the importance of Professional Development if the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) of lecturers in these institutions will adequately prepare preservice teachers for the modern classroom.