Enacting knowledge in context: A classroom-based analysis of a pre-service teacher’s practice

Paula Verdugo-Hernández 1 * , Sofía Caviedes Barrera 2
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1 Escuela de Pedagogía en Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad de Talca, Linares, CHILE
2 Depto de Didáctica de las Matemáticas y las Ciencias Experimentales, Facultad de Educación, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, SPAIN
* Corresponding Author
EUR J SCI MATH ED, Volume 14, Issue 1, pp. 47-67. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/17623
Published: 22 December 2025
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ABSTRACT

This study explores how a pre-service mathematics teacher mobilizes specialized knowledge while teaching three geometric concepts: similarity, homothety, and Thales’ theorem. Drawing on the mathematics teachers’ specialized Knowledge model and Duval’s (1995) theory of registers of semiotic representation, the study examines how knowledge domains are enacted through multiple representations. Data were collected from three consecutive lessons during the teacher’s practicum in a socioeconomically disadvantaged and traditionally structured classroom. Findings indicate that the pre-service teacher evidenced representational fluency and procedural clarity, particularly in the use of diagrams and gestures to convey proportional reasoning. However, conceptual generalizations and formative engagement with students’ thinking remained limited. The study underscores the importance of teacher education programs in explicitly linking representational practices with epistemic goals and student reasoning, especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts where systemic constraints often restrict opportunities. This research contributes to ongoing discussions on pre-service teacher development and the pedagogical demands of geometry instruction in authentic classroom settings.
Keywords: specialized knowledge, registers of semiotic representation, teacher education, geometric transformations, procedural fluency

CITATION

Verdugo-Hernández, P., & Caviedes Barrera, S. (2026). Enacting knowledge in context: A classroom-based analysis of a pre-service teacher’s practice. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14(1), 47-67. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/17623

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