A Review of Research on Professional Development for Teaching Mathematics with Digital Technology

Research has demonstrated that teachers play a crucial role in supporting student learning with digital technology. Hence, developing and improving teachers’ competencies through professional development (PD) has become increasingly important for universities, districts, schools, and teachers. This review provides a broad overview of research studies published between 2010 and 2021 focusing on PD for teaching mathematics with technology. It reports an overview of study characteristics, PD formats, design principles, as well as policy, culture, and school context considerations. Overall, we found a diversity of PD and research approaches, with many methods, mathematical topics, and technologies addressed. Furthermore, we observed a dominance of qualitative and longitudinal studies and the use of the TPACK framework. In addition, PD programs often addressed pre-structured/guided math-environments (e.g., apps designed for a specific topic) and general tools (e.g., PowerPoint), which marks a substantial change from earlier research that often focused on Expressive-Math-Tools (e.g., dynamic geometry software). The review suggests the need for comprehensive reporting of PD characteristics to facilitate comparison and interpretation of studies; more research concerning PD facilitators, teachers’ and facilitators’ noticing; design-based PD development; and research on policy, culture, and context considerations in designing effective PD programs.