In the last two years of teacher education (cycle 2), student teachers will delve into a specific subject, in this case mathematics, and they will acquire R&D competence (R&D stands for research and development). This means that they should be able to carry out systematic development work in their own practice (alone or in a community at the school) to improve students’ learning outcomes. R&D competence also involves theoretical knowledge and how to apply it, including as a basis for development work. R&D competence is also part of academic practice, and a few student teachers will choose an academic career after completing their master’s degree. However, the majority of student teachers will become teachers, and the R&D competence we work with in teacher education should therefore have a clear professional orientation.

Despite these good intentions, research shows that master’s theses are often perceived as detached from the profession, and that the methodologies used in them do not necessarily strengthen students teachers’ competence in development work (Drageset et al., 2025). In the MaTEN project, we take a holistic view at cycle 2 with courses and master’s theses. We build on the knowledge from Work Package 1 and on literature and previous experiences. The overarching research questions are:

• 3.1 How can courses in Cycle 2 be designed to support PSTs’ professional development, with a particular focus on R&D competence? How can this be extended to design principles for course design in Cycle 2?
• 3.2 How can a model for supervision of the master’s thesis involving mentor teachers, MTEs, and PSTs function as a sustainable method of supervision in mathematics teacher education so that it contributes to PSTs’ development of R&D competence?

Both questions will be answered through design research studies with two iterations. For the development of courses (3.1) we will conduct parallel studies at NTNU and OsloMet. The development of master’s supervision will take place at NTNU, in close collaboration with the teachers and schools that are partners in the MaTEN project. Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT, see Engeström, 2015) will be a relevant theoretical input to the studies.

References

Drageset, O. G., Sæther, K. A., Sivertsvik, S., & Ell, F. (2025). Masteroppgaven-en vei til den utforskende læreren?. Nordisk tidsskrift for utdanning og praksis, 19(1), 143–162.

Engeström, Y. (2015). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press.