Mathematics not only consists of procedures, symbols or operations, but
also involves connections, representations, problem solving, reasoning and
proof, communication, and conceptual understanding. Learners should make
necessary connections among mathematical concepts and representations in order
to develop deep mathematical understandings. For this reason, this study aims
to explore prospective middle school mathematics teachers’ views about
mathematical connections and their knowledge of connections among external
representations in the context of proportionality. Multiple case study was used
as a research design and the participants were three prospective middle school
teachers enrolled in a teacher education program at a public university in the
inner region of Turkey. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews,
note taking, and written tasks. The
findings of the study suggested that prospective teachers viewed connections
mainly as a link between different mathematical topics or concepts, as a link
between mathematics and daily life, and as a tool for improving students’
understanding of mathematics. Moreover, prospective teachers were able to
translate easily among different representations. However, the translations
were carried out without conceptual understanding. Besides, participants had limited understanding of
proportionality in the case of graphical representations.
Prospective teachers mathematical connections external representations proportionality
Konular | Eğitim Üzerine Çalışmalar |
---|---|
Bölüm | Makaleler |
Yazarlar | |
Yayımlanma Tarihi | 31 Aralık 2017 |
Gönderilme Tarihi | 10 Aralık 2017 |
Yayımlandığı Sayı | Yıl 2017Cilt: 2 Sayı: 2 |