How student teachers engage with the making of teaching tools for mathematics pedagogy

M.Ed. (Childhood Education)Abstract: In my practice as a foundation phase mentor teacher for student teachers, I have witnessed how hard it is for them to create effective teaching tools in a low-tech, informal ‘makerspace’ during their practicum. As teacher educator at a teaching school, I was motivated to investigate this topic in order to improve my mentorship. Although the design of teaching aids appeared less challenging in their practicum planning groups, the same activity posed a serious challenge for them when they had to implement the tools individually in different schools where they continued their practicum beyond our teaching school on the campus. They often came back to our school to borrow teaching tools that they had created at the school and where they worked together as a group. The safe environment of the teaching school on the campus was a ‘maker’ place where they could design their tools and learn to use them. I wanted to study the students to find out how they developed this part of their pre-service education. I thus initiated this study to explore how student teachers at the university teaching school behave during their practicum session with a mentor teacher. I utilised the Thomas and Brown (2009) model of design and creativity, which is viewed from the three perspectives of human activity namely “knowing” (Homo sapiens), “making” (Homo faber) and “playing” ( and imagining) (Homo ludens). I coupled this perspective with Collins, Brown and Holum’s (1991) typology of cognitive apprenticeship. Data for the study was collected by myself as participatory and practitioner researcher, with field notes, photos, artefacts, and individual- and focus group interviews. Two groups of third year BEd foundation phase education student teachers were selected form to take part in the study. The data were collated and analysed with Atlasti software and also manually. The results indicated that despite the student teachers’ ability to design and make creative artefacts, they found it hard to integrate their tools as mediational ‘signs’ in practice. Additionally, they used teaching tools that were not always relevant to the content they were teaching. Through the inductive analysis, seven themes were..