Professional Development in Mathematics Education—Evaluation of a MOOC on Outdoor Mathematics

Eugenia Taranto, Simone Jablonski, Tomas Recio, Christian Mercat, Elisabete Cunha, Claudia Lázaro, Matthias Ludwig and Maria Flavia Mammana
Additional contact information
Eugenia Taranto: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Simone Jablonski: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Education, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
Tomas Recio: Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Christian Mercat: Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UR 4148 S2HEP, F-69622 Lyon, France
Elisabete Cunha: Escola Superior de Educação, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, 4901-908 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Claudia Lázaro: Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, University de Cantabria, 39005 Santander, Spain
Matthias Ludwig: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Education, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany
Maria Flavia Mammana: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy

Mathematics, 2021, vol. 9, issue 22, 1-30

Abstract: In this paper, we examine the impact of a massive open online course (MOOC) in the context of outdoor mathematics on the participating teachers’ professional development. We firstly introduce the theoretical background on outdoor mathematics, focusing on math trails with the digital tool MathCityMap and professional development to be accomplished using MOOCs. By taking into account the MOOC “Task Design for Math Trails”, with 93 finalists, we analyze the learning progress of 19 selected case studies from different nations and learning levels by taking into account their answers in a pre- and post-questionnaire and their posts on a specific communication message board, with a special focus on the MOOC’s topics’ task design for outdoor mathematics and the digital tool MathCityMap. The analysis is performed using different quantitative and qualitative approaches. The results show that the teachers studied have benefited from professional development, which is evident in the expansion/evolution of their knowledge from a content, pedagogical, and technological perspective. Finally, we formulate consequences for professional development in STEM education, and conclude the paper with limitations to be drawn and a perspective for further research.

Keywords: professional development; MOOC; math trails; MathCityMap; STEM education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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