Laboratory Practicum for Preparing Future Mathematics Teachers to Use Learning Platforms

Abstract

In the current context of school education development, learning platforms are becoming increasingly important as a means of organizing instruction, enabling teachers to expand the possibilities of traditional classroom teaching and modernize the educational process. However, further research is needed to determine how learning platforms should be selected in accordance with the objectives, content, and expected learning outcomes of mathematics education. The purpose of this study is to explain the place and role of the laboratory practicum "Using Learning Platforms in Mathematics Education" within the didactic system for developing the methodological competencies of future mathematics teachers. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate how mathematics teachers use digital tools and to identify their perceptions of the appropriateness of employing learning platforms in mathematics instruction. The findings indicate that the effective use of digital resources largely depends on teachers' ability to integrate learning platforms into a comprehensive instructional strategy in a methodologically sound manner. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development, presentation, and justification of five laboratory assignments designed to develop future mathematics teachers' ability to select, analyze, and apply learning platforms in mathematics teaching based on sound methodological principles. The implementation of the laboratory practicum in the master's degree programme made it possible to evaluate its content validity, methodological consistency, and practical orientation. The didactic value of the practicum lies in encouraging future teachers not merely to use digital services formally but to critically reflect on the pedagogical appropriateness of every methodological decision. The findings confirm the need to strengthen the methodological component of future mathematics teachers' professional preparation in the context of the digitalization of education.