Defining a non-complex learning object from preschool to upper secondary school

The aim of this article is to analyse the aspects that teachers intend to focus on in teaching mathematics and the students' needs, i.e. what is critical for student learning. The article develops an argument for the importance of identifying the “critical aspects” as a basis for the teachers to promote student learning of Mathematics from preschool to upper secondary school. The article concludes that what teachers believe that students need to be offered concerning a specific content of Mathematics does not correspond to students' needs. Gaps between the intended and the enacted object of learning show that both the way the object of learning is offered and the way this is communicated in a teaching situation could be improved.