A `knowledge quartet' used to identify a second-year pre-service teacher's primary mathematical content knowledge

This paper draws on observation of a primary mathematics lesson prepared and taught by a second-year pre-service teacher who lacked mathematical content knowledge. A `knowledge quartet (Rowland, Turner, Thwaites, Huckstep, 2009) was used to investigate when and how a pre-service teacher drew on their knowledge of mathematics during primary teaching. Data were collected from field notes, audio recording of part of a lesson, and an interview with the pre-service teacher after the lesson. Discussion focuses on the four characteristics of the `knowledge quartet : foundation, connection, transformation and contingency. Conclusions suggested that pre-service teachers need to continue developing their mathematical content knowledge to assist with future planning and teaching of primary mathematics lessons.