To Örebro University

This dissertation examines professionals’ Inquiry-based Collaborations for Mathematics Teaching Improvement (ICMTI) through a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework. While teacher collaboration has a long history, recent research highlights the importance of systematic, inquiry-driven practices that foster critical reflection and the use of data to improve teaching. However, establishing such collaborations poses challenges for professionals, both in terms of organization and the methods and artifacts used for inquiry.

The study aims to advance understanding of ICMTI and its processes by investigating how such collaborations may be organized, the challenges encountered, how these challenges may be navigated, as well as the artifacts that mediate collaborative processes and their consequences.

To achieve this, the dissertation is grounded in three studies: a systematic literature review, an interview study, and an observational case study, all of which are analyzed using different CHAT-based frameworks. The dissertation deepens the understanding of ICMTI as a complex process, highlighting and nuancing the importance of reflecting on the division of labor, prevailing norms, and the use of artifacts, both in planning and throughout the implementation of ICMTI.

This dissertation offers practical insights for designing and implementing future ICMTI and contributes theoretically to the concepts of ICMTI, multi-mediating, and boundary-negotiating artifacts.