The integration of ICT in formal teaching and learning environments has become more and more relevant along the last decades. However, its use in the mathematics classroom seems to be still far from initial expectations. This paper shows the results from a research conducted to get some insight about such a gap by analyzing the relationship between pre-service primary teachers’ teaching styles in teaching and learning mathematics and their attitudes towards the use of technology in mathematics classrooms. Analysis of Variances and step-wise multiple regression analysis were performed over the data provided by one hundred and sixty three participants by completing survey questionnaires. The results indicate that pre-service teachers’ year of study has no significant impact on the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning of mathematics while teaching styles and gender do have. Furthermore, age, gender and teaching styles are capable predictors for the construction of the regression model and it is deduced that teaching styles have a predictive ability on the integration of ICT in mathematics classrooms.

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital learning has reshaped mathematics education in different ways. In particular, different social media platforms have acquired an unforeseen prominence as a way to enhance mathematics learning and to model somehow the face-to-face classroom interactions abruptly interrupted. How primary and secondary students have reacted or responded to these changes in the initial learning conditions is the main aim of this study. With this purpose in mind data was collected from 3179 students from the Gaza Strip by means of a validated rating scale and then a cluster analysis approach was applied that revealed the existence of three clusters. K-means cluster analysis was applied to analyze data as an exploratory approach to identify structures within the data. Also, chi-square was applied to identify differences between the clusters with regard to demographic characteristics. Regarding the grouping of participants in clusters the analysis performed lead to the identification of three clusters: Cluster 1, 2 and 3 had 2001, 824 and 354 cases, respectively. These clusters were grouped depending on employ social media platforms used by the students to reinforcement their mathematics learning. Participants in Cluster 3 exhibited the highest proficiency in the usage of social media for mathematics learning as compared to those in Cluster 1 and Cluster 2. This means that students in cluster 1 are more likely to exhibit negative attitudes and low levels in the skills related to using digital technology and the employment of social media in mathematics learning. The results showed that there were no significant differences between cluster-groups with regard to gender, age, and type of school. In contrast, significant differences were found among the three clusters with regards to the educational level of parents and the economic status of the family. However, the overall results show that digital learning is considered a positive response to the school closure in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Research on the relationships between the main constructs underlying inquiry-based learning is rarely reported in mathematics education research. Considering this as a complex problem which is worth to be investigated, the present study aims to provide some empirical evidences that might serve as an insight to support further investigations on the relationships between attitudes towards mathematics and inquiry-based learning approaches. Thus, this study adopts a descriptive research design where no variables are manipulated but observed and measured in order to identify changes depicted in data collection. An instructional design focusing on the nature of mathematical inquiry is carried out with the participation of 304 secondary and high school students, and a clustering approach is used to look at how participants are grouped around certain attitudinal profiles before and after such mathematical practice. The results show how the heterogeneity of attitudinal profiles present in the classroom evolves positively in terms of perceived usefulness of mathematics and mathematical self-concept as perception of competence in mathematics. This fact provides some basis that might be used for further research on the idea that certain forms of development in inquiry-based mathematics education (IBME) based on greater immersion in the nature and culture of mathematics can help students to improve their attitudes towards mathematics.

Resumen:La investigación educativa reciente y las políticas de espectro mundial en el campo de la educación ambiental establecen como objetivo prioritario para un desarrollo humano sostenible la obtención de niveles elevados de conciencia ambiental. La preocupación por este constructo en el ámbito del desarrollo profesional docente es relativamente reciente y la disponibilidad de herramientas para su tratamiento cuantitativo aún escasa. El presente trabajo muestra el proceso de diseño y validación de un instrumento, en forma de escala, para la medición de conciencia ambiental en contextos específicos de formación inicial del profesorado de Primaria. La escala queda conformada por 30 indicadores agrupados en 4 dimensiones (afectiva, cognitiva, conativa y activa) y presenta propiedades psicométricas que avalan su fiabilidad, con valores de consistencia interna adecuados ( = .873), y su validez, con resultados de Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio que muestran un buen nivel de ajuste en el modelo finalmente seleccionado (RMSEA= .031; SRMR= .071; CFI= .991 y TLI = .990). La investigación está enmarcada en un proyecto de mayor envergadura orientado al desarrollo de entornos de aprendizaje apoyados en herramientas metacognitivas que favorezcan la integración de una buena conciencia ambiental en el ejercicio diario de la profesión docente en los niveles educativos básicos, objetivo para el que resulta necesario disponer de instrumentos de medición de conciencia ambiental como la escala diseñada para el contexto de la formación inicial

Social media technologies have reshaped our lives today and Zambian teachers do a massive use of smart phones, tablets, and other portable tools. In addition, they are continually searching for forefront innovations. Frequently, the utilization of these gadgets is not in manners foreseen by innovation advocates. This study focuses on exploring the use of social media platforms and the impact of such social networking services in the teaching and learning of mathematics by pre-service teachers. To explore pre-service teachers’ use of social media in their teaching and learning experiences, the authors administered an adapted and validated research instrument via a quantitative survey system to a sample of 102 pre-service teachers from the Copperbelt University. Analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were used to test the interplay of relationships between pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards the use of social media based on year of study and gender, social media use and classroom integration, social media use, and mathematics pedagogy. Further, a statistical test was run to show whether positive correlations existed or not. Results disclosed that respondents showed an average use of social media tools in mathematics and provide a prediction model for pre-service teachers’ future integration of social media in the teaching and learning of mathematics.