Methods and tools to promote a socio-constructive approach to mathematics teaching in teachers

This work, after a short introduction on the role of the teacher in socio-constructive teaching and a synthesis of the main directions suggested by research in this field, deals with the methodology used to work with and for in-service teachers involved in a teacher training programme, aiming at a refinement of their skills in orchestrating mathematical discussions. Particular attention is paid to the description of a specific tool for teacher education we constructed starting from teachers’ transcripts of their own classroom processes and going through multiple analytical comments. This tool stresses and magnifies teachers’ attitudes, conceptions and knowledge as emerging from the process: the teacher is thus led to critically reflect upon his/her own action in the classroom and possibly adjust it. In this work, discussion focuses on the main problems concerning teacher education, and highlighted by the use of this tools, and ends up with reflections about its formative efficacy.