On the content-dependence of prospective teachers' knowledge: a case of exemplifying definitions

• Autores: Roza Leikin, Rina Zazkis
• Localización: International journal of mathematical education in science and technology, ISSN 0020-739X, Vol. 41, Nº. 4, 2010, págs. 451-466
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/00207391003605189
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• Resumen

  • 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.