Research on task design in pre-service mathematics teacher education: a scoping review

Abstract

Tasks are central to every facet of mathematics education. In this scoping review, we bring together research focused on task design in the context of pre-service mathematics teacher education. We perform a qualitative content analysis of 112 peer-reviewed studies published between 2001 and 2023. The results of our review describe a diverse field of research, identify connections between works reflecting different demographics, aims, and methodological and theoretical commitments, and finally, through the application of the MEDSS task design action framework, foreground the different practical actions pre-service teaches must take to effectively design tasks. These include the practical actions of modifying, evaluating, developing, selecting, and sequencing (MEDSS) tasks. We believe the results of this study will be of value to mathematics teacher educators and researchers.