Pre-service Mathematics Teachers’ Experiences in Modelling Projects from a Socio-critical Modelling Perspective

Abstract

Partial findings from a research project aimed at characterising experiences in mathematical modelling (MM) projects carried out by pre-service mathematics teachers are reported. The non-mathematical themes selected and the mathematical content used in designing and developing free MM projects are reported. Aspects of the socio-critical modelling perspective present in such projects are also analysed. This analysis revealed that: (a) the selected themes could be categorized as: socio-economic, ecological, personally relevant, didactical and mathematically focused; (b) the mathematical content involved in the projects were associated with statistics, probability, and analysis. The study of a single project about trash and recyclable collection reveals characteristics of socio critical modelling perspective, difficulties of the MM process, and educational reflections.