Mathematics teachers’ specialized knowledge mobilized through problem transformation

In this study we address two issues related to problem-posing tasks in teacher education: (i) the characterization of the specialized knowledge mobilized by prospective teachers when carrying out these tasks and (ii) the identification of the prospective teachers’ pedagogical intentions in making adaptations to textbook problems. We asked prospective teachers to outline their suggestions for transforming a multiplicative problem so as to “promote the understanding” of their potential pupils. We then carried out a content analysis of their responses using the Mathematics Teachers’ Specialized Knowledge model of teachers’ specialized knowledge and identified their pedagogical intentions by means of the constant comparison method. The results show that prospective primary teachers mobilized both mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge in their responses to the problem reformulation task. Further, four distinct pedagogical intentions emerged that drew on different interpretations of the task prompt, and this influenced the type of transformation the prospective primary teachers suggested and the knowledge they mobilized in their answers. •Problem posing can be studied from the perspective of teachers’ professional activity.•Prospective teachers can be taught through and for problem posing.•Problem posing tasks can be studied in teacher education.•Teachers require professional knowledge to pose problem to their students.•Prospective teachers use both mathematical and pedagogical knowledge to pose problems.