Preservice teachers’ beliefs about mathematical digital competency – a “hidden variable” in teaching mathematics with digital technology?

Abstract

Recently the construct of mathematical digital competency (MDC) was put forward in which mathematical competency and digital competency are seen as a connected whole. This entails that student understanding of mathematical concepts may be almost inseparable from digital tools. We report on a quantitative study with n=238 preservice teachers (PSTs) from Germany that investigates PSTs’ beliefs about such a “connected position” of MDC. Results show that a large group of PSTs believe in the potential of digital technology but at the same time opposes the notion of MDC and rather believe that mathematical and digital competency should be separated. Furthermore, PSTs’ beliefs about MDC are largely independent from epistemological beliefs. We hypothesize, that beliefs about MDC may be an overlooked variable which may influence how teacher think about and use digital technology in the mathematics classroom