Types of ESD-mathematical modelling tasks–Integrating mathematical modelling and education for sustainable development (ESD) for school and teacher education

Mathematical education provides a fact-based foundation for addressing challenges related to sustainable development. In this study, sustainability is conceptualized in accordance with the guiding principles of sustainability and education for sustainable development (ESD) formulated by the United Nations (2015). Despite its relevance, research gaps persist regarding the integration of mathematical modelling and ESD in school and teacher education. Task design is central to implementing ESD in mathematics education. Empirical evidence lacks regarding how pre-service teachers develop ESD-modelling-tasks based on specific design-criteria. Thus, firstly this study examines how 35 pre-service mathematics teachers approach to develop ESD-modelling-tasks. Ten participants received explicit instruction in design-criteria for ESD-modelling-tasks. Thus, secondly the goal was to investigate if their developed tasks differ. Qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis. The findings show two approaches to task development and identify three distinct types of ESD-modelling-tasks, providing implications for research and practice.