publisher
Evaluating pre-service primary school teachers’ didactic knowledge in mathematics through the planning of exploratory teaching practices integrating computational thinking
- Source
- Frontiers in Education
- Published
- Last verified
- 14 Aug 2026
- Confidence
- High
- Evidence
- Original document retained
- Reading time
- 1 min
- Country
- International
- Relevant to
- People & Capability, Research & Evidence, Strategy & Planning, Operations & Delivery
Executive summary
What happened, and why should leadership care?
A study evaluated the didactic knowledge of pre-service primary school teachers in mathematics, specifically concerning their ability to plan exploratory teaching practices that integrate Computational Thinking (CT). This research, conducted in Portugal, assessed teachers' knowledge at three stages during a training program, emphasizing the design of tasks promoting CT dimensions like abstraction and decomposition, within the context of lesson planning.
Why this matters
Why is this strategically important?
This research is strategically important because it addresses the critical need for educators to integrate contemporary skills like Computational Thinking into foundational curricula. It highlights the complexity of teacher training and curriculum development, which directly impacts the future workforce's analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
Key insights
What should be noted from the evidence?
- Lesson planning is identified as a complex and central professional practice in teacher education.
- Effective lesson planning requires the integrated application of various types of didactic knowledge in mathematics.
- The Portuguese Mathematics curriculum now includes Computational Thinking, necessitating teacher preparedness in this area.
- The study evaluates pre-service teachers' didactic knowledge in mathematics across multiple points (Pre-Intervention, Post-Intervention I, and Post-Intervention II) within a training program.
- The evaluation method involves assessing teachers' planning of Exploratory Teaching Practices that incorporate tasks designed to develop CT dimensions, such as abstraction.
Evidence and confidence
How far can this assessment be trusted?
High confidence. Named institution, original document retained and analysis corroborated.
Analysis is prepared editorially by Aziz Shuaib Ausi. The original publication remains the authoritative record, and executive judgement remains entirely human.
Source
Where does this originate?
Reported by Frontiers in Education · International. This briefing summarises the publication for executive use; the document itself is not reproduced here.
Read the original publication