Previous research on computers and graphics calculators in mathematics education has looked at effects on curriculum content and students’ mathematical achievement and attitudes, but less attention has been given to the ways in which teachers integrate technology into their pedagogical practice or to how teachers learn to teach with technology. This observation is critical in the current context of educational policy making, where it is assumed – often incorrectly – that supplying schools with hardware and software will increase teachers’ use of technology and encourage more innovative teaching approaches.

This paper reports on a research program that aimed to develop better understanding of how and under what conditions Australian secondary school mathematics teachers learn to effectively integrate technology into their practice. The research adapted Valsiner’s concepts of the Zone of Proximal Development, Zone of Free Movement and Zone of Promoted Action to devise a theoretical framework for analysing relationships between factors influencing teachers’ use of technology in mathematics classrooms. The framework is used to analyse case studies of a novice teacher and an experienced teacher in different school settings.