Networking the documentational approach and Valsiner's zone theory

Abstract

The documentational approach to didactics (DAD) and Valsiner’s zone theory are combined to increase explanatory power when exploring pre-service teachers’ professional development. The strategy of combining is applied, forging a model that serves to theorise and support a resource approach to mathematics teacher education. DAD delineates the relationship between pre-service mathematics teachers and resources through the concept of documentational genesis. The context and its influence on the documentational genesis is rendered in terms of the zone of free movement and the zone of promoted action. Thus, the theoretical framework presented provides a tool to discern and a language to discuss pre-service teachers’ professional development in interaction with resources for teaching mathematics. The case of Oda provides an example that illustrates how tension in her zone system influences her interaction with resources and her professional development.