Learning through teaching: The case of symmetry

A study was carried out within the framework of an undergraduate course in teaching skills and strategies. An experimental part of the course was desigaled to provide an opportunity for the students to learn a mathematical topic through teaching it to eighth grade pupils in a Learning Through Teaching (LTT) enviromnent. Symmetry was chosen as file focal mathematical topic for the experiment. This paper focuses on the development of the students' understanding of line symmetry. The findings show that the implemented LTT enviromnent served as a vehicle for the student teachers to learn mathematics. In spite of the difficulties they encountered during the study, the students expressed positive dispositions towards symmetry and its role in mathematics.