ABSTRACT
In the 1970s more and more high school teachers in Austria felt that, in addition to their competence in two subjects (e.g. mathematics and geography), further development of their pedagogical and didactic competence would be required for coping successfully with the complexities of teaching and learning. In awareness of this need, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Klagenfurt began to plan the teacher inservice courses PFL in several subjects, of which mathematics is one. PFL is an abbreviation for ‘pedagogy and subject-specific methodology for teachers’. Since 1982, four PFL-mathematics and two PFL-science courses, each attended by about 30 participants, have taken place. Each course lasts for four semesters and consists of a variety of formats, in particular three one-week seminars, five one-and-a-half-day regional group meetings, and individual practical work. The teachers are required to write case studies on innovations introduced in their schools. After the conclusion of the course, participants receive a university certificate with a description of their achievements during the course.
