ERIC Number: ED606887
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Transforming Pre-Service Teachers Definition of Function
Sherman, Milan F.; Meagher, Michael S.; Lovett, Jennifer; McCulloch, Allison
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (41st, St. Louis, MO, Nov 14-17, 2019)
Functions form a central part of the U.S. mathematics curriculum especially at the high school level. There is a considerable body of research showing that students at all levels, including preservice secondary mathematics teachers, have difficulties with the definition of function as a correspondence between two sets with a univalence condition. Those difficulties include privileging algebraic representations and reductive interpretations of the univalence condition in the form of the vertical line test. In our research study, 47 pre-service mathematics teachers provided definitions of function, engaged with an interactive applet that had a non-standard representation of function, and then provided revised definitions of function. The results of the study show a measurable increase in the participants level of abstraction in their definitions, and an increase in their attention to the univalence condition. [For the complete proceedings, see ED606556.]
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Definitions, Mathematical Concepts, Secondary School Mathematics, Difficulty Level, Educational Technology, Transformative Learning, Undergraduate Students, Algebra, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Knowledge Level
North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. e-mail: pmena.steeringcommittee@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.pmena.org/
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: DUE1820998; DUE1821054; DUE11230001
Author Affiliations: N/A

Peer reviewed
