In pre-service mathematics teacher education, school internships have the potential of facilitating the interconnection of practical experience and learning related to theoretical criterion knowledge. To use this learning potential, internship phases are often accompanied with seminars or reflection opportunities in groups of pre-service teachers (PSTs). For such reflection on classroom situations, their representation, e.g., in the format of videos, transcript-style texts or classroom cartoons, can be a key facilitator. In particular digitally-based classroom cartoons combine advantages, e.g., related to a digitally facilitated creation process.

With the help of a digital tool for creating classroom cartoons, PSTs can represent their observations from their internships in the form of classroom cartoons, which can then be used as profession-related learning opportunities in PST groups, e.g., in seminars accompanying the internship phase. The design of such profession-related learning opportunities should be aware that PSTs’ classroom cartoon design is influenced by the individual PSTs’ noticing and views, as these may trigger which observations they make, select and what meaning they give to their practice observations. Reflection processes related to the classroom cartoons should hence include a focus on these aspects, beyond merely considering the individual cartoons.

These phenomena and learning potentials can be explored particularly well in the case of mistake situations and mistake-handling activities in the mathematics classroom: Perspectives on learning from mistakes in the mathematics classroom can vary and so do mathematics teachers’ views: According to behaviourist points of view, mistakes may appear just as undesirable behaviour which should be avoided, whereas more recent approaches emphasise that mistakes can be valuable opportunities for building up mathematical knowledge and competence. In particular, so-called “negative knowledge”, i.e., knowledge about the boundaries of the correct, can be developed through learners’ analysing of mistakes. Consequently, PSTs’ noticing and views related to classroom situations in which mistakes occur can differ and provide rich opportunities for reflection, discussion, and profession-related learning.

As research into the learning potentials of such classroom cartoon-related learning opportunities is scarce, this paper explores the following research question: Which learning potentials can be identified in classroom cartoons created by mathematics pre-service teachers on observations of mistake-handling situations from school internships?

For answering the research question, this explorative study uses interpretive methods. The chosen case study approach corresponds particularly well to the classroom cartoons, which present cases of classroom situations. Classroom cartoons are analysed together with the designing PSTs’ comments, in order to identify potentials of profession-related learning.

The results yield that learning potentials related to reflecting and discussing on these classroom cartoons extend on several levels, among which learning to notice in criteria-based ways is a key component, among developing PSTs’ views, their knowledge about reaction possibilities and further professional knowledge elements.

On the base of the evidence, the paper gives a more general outlook on learning from classroom cartoons.

Keywords: Classroom cartoons, mistake-handling activities, mathematics education, pre-service teachers, noticing.