Abstract
In this article, we demonstrate that prospective teachers' content knowledge related to defining mathematical concepts is dependent on content area. We use the example of generation (a research tool we developed in a previous study) to investigate prospective teachers' knowledge. We asked prospective secondary mathematics teachers to provide multiple examples of definitions of concepts from different areas of mathematics. We examined teacher-generated examples of concept definition and analysed individual and collective example spaces, focusing on their correctness and richness. We demonstrate differences in prospective teachers' knowledge associated with defining mathematical concepts in geometry, algebra and calculus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 451-466 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- Concept definition
- Example spaces
- Exemplification
- Mathematical definitions
- Mathematics teacher education
- Teacher knowledge
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mathematics (miscellaneous)
- Education
- Applied Mathematics