Cognitive demand level of math tasks according to secondary school mathematics teachers: A comparative examination of their opinions, lesson plays and classroom practises

The aim of this study is to reveal how pre-service elementary mathematics teachers determine the cognitive demand levels of mathematical tasks and to examine comparatively how they design and implement these mathematical tasks in the classroom environment. The study, which was carried out as a case study, one of the qualitative research designs, was carried out with four pre-service teachers who took the elective course 'Efficiency Development in Mathematics Teaching', one of the third-year pre-service teachers studying in the Department of Elementary Mathematics Education at a state university in a province in the Black Sea Region in the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. Therefore, the participants of the research were determined by criterion sampling, one of the purposive sampling methods. Using the Mathematical Tasks Framework developed by Stein and Smith (1998), the rationale for four mathematical tasks selected from the Triangles unit in the 8th grade textbooks recommended by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) and in the study fascicles published by the Ministry of National Education Directorates' justifications. were asked to determine. In addition, pre-service teachers have prepared an imaginary lesson play that includes student responses, reasoning processes or misconceptions about each task, assuming that they have implemented these four tasks in the classroom. After the written data of the research were collected, observations were made on classroom practices in two public schools determined in the spring term of the 2022-2023 academic year. In this process, the researcher took the role of non-participant observer. The analysis of the obtained data was made with descriptive analysis. The written data were evaluated according to the levels mentioned in the Mathematical Tasks Framework. According to the findings, it was seen that the pre-service teachers tried to include questioning and justification in the lesson plays in a way that would maintain the cognitive demand levels of the mathematical tasks, but they had difficulties in reaching the targeted level. Similarly, during the implementation process, it was observed that the tasks in the classroom environment handled the cognitive demands at a lower level. Based on the results of the research, suggestions were made regarding teacher training programs.