How do Future Teachers Recognize Professional Learning Opportunities to Teach Mathematics in the Primary School? An Experiment Involving Early Algebra

Providing professional learning opportunities for future teachers must be understood as part of a teacher educator's work. However, understanding how opportunities are made possible and how they are developed can be observed through the vision of future teachers about such opportunities. In light of that, the present study aims to identify and understand the views of future teachers, regarding the practice of a teacher educator, by providing professional learning opportunities for teaching Algebra in the early years, within a Mathematics Teaching discipline in a pre-service primary teacher education program. To this end, questionnaires from thirty future teachers were used, whose responses were grouped into two essential components for professional learning opportunities: professional learning tasks and the role and actions of the teacher educator. Among the results, one can note the importance recognized by future teachers regarding the tasks, as well as with regard to the role and actions of the teacher educator, mainly in the redefinition of future teachers' beliefs, externalized through negative feelings, about the mathematics, its teaching, and learning.

Prospective primary teachers; Pre-service primary teacher education program; Teacher Educator; Teaching of Early Algebra; Beliefs