Abstract. A practice-based theory of professional education argues that
teachers’ knowledge about teaching is developed by opportunities to
learn in and from their practice. In this colloquium, I discuss an
ongoing NSF-funded project in which a simulated classroom environment
is used to generate such opportunities, with a focus on generating
opportunities to engage in a mathematical practice that is often
unavailable to novice teachers. In this simulated environment,
teachers interact with a group of five digitally animated avatar
students and lead them in a discussion of a mathematics topic.
Constructing such a simulation involves a complex set of design
decisions, some of which require making key assumptions about student
and teacher learning, and which draw attention to areas that would
benefit from more in depth study and theorization. In the
presentation, I will give an overview of the project, share an example
mathematics task and video-recorded performance in the simulated
environment, and discuss design questions we grappled with and their
implications, including implications for the uses of such tools to
support teacher learning, assess teachers, and implications for
research.