Algebraic Thinking: Conceptions of Elementary School Teachers (original) (raw)
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PRIMARY TEACHERS CONCEPTIONS ABOUT SOME ASPECTS OF ALGEBRAIC THINKING
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Algebraic Thinking Profiles of Junior High Schools’ Pupil in Mathematics Problem Solving
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In this study we examined the relationship between 18 pre-service middle school teachers’ own ability to use algebraic thinking to solve problems and their ability to recognize and interpret the algebraic thinking of middle school students. We assessed the pre-service teachers’ own algebraic thinking by examining their solutions and explanations to multiple algebra-based tasks posed during a semester-long mathematics content course. We assessed their ability to recognize and interpret the algebraic thinking of students in two ways. The first was by analyzing the preservice teachers’ ability to interpret students’ written solutions to open-ended algebra-based tasks. The second was by analyzing their ability to plan, conduct, and analyze algebraic thinking (AT) interviews of middle school students during a concurrent semester-long, field-based education class. We used algebraic habits of mind as a framework to identify the algebraic thinking that pre-service teachers exhibited in thei...