Elements of Epistemological Knowledge for Mathematics Teachers

Epistemological knowledge of mathematics in social learning settings is an important type of professional knowledge for mathematics teachers because it refers to social and interactive processes of communication. This article focuses on one central aspect of epistemological mathematical knowledge, namely on the problematique of how mathematical signs and symbols gain meaning in the interactive social processes of teaching and learning. A teaching episode is presented and analyzed from an epistemological perspective. This analysis leads to the identification of three important components of epistemological knowledge that could be introduced into the education of mathematics teachers: the developmental nature of mathematical knowledge; interactive social processes of mathematical communication as autonomous systems; and the interdependence of social and epistemological constraints in mathematical communication.