Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers Reactions To Conflicting Output Between Mathematics Technologies

Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Reactions to Conflicting Output Between Mathematics Technologies

This study used task-based interviews and on-line questionnaires to investigate how six preservice secondary mathematics teachers at a large public university mathematically resolved output conflicts between mathematics technologies, their perspectives on using mathematics technologies and conflicting technological output in their future classrooms after experiencing conflicts themselves, and how their reactions related to their prior experiences and beliefs. Participants' mathematical resolution methods involved common elements of recognizing salient similarities and differences, recalling facts and procedures seen as relevant to the conflicts, and using facts and procedures or technological evidence to determine the equivalence or validity of outputs. Participants used a considerable variety of mathematics and technological features to resolve the conflicts. Participants saw conflicting outputs as potentially useful teaching tools, but most seemed comfortable using conflicting output in their future teaching only if they could control how and when students encountered the conflicts. While beliefs and prior experiences seemed connected to participants' reactions to conflicting output in some cases, it was not possible to connect experiences and beliefs to reactions across all participants or across all tasks. Results suggest that conflicting technological output could provoke rich discussions in teacher education courses that could broaden content knowledge and conceptions of technology use.

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Psychological Studies in the Teaching, Learning and Assessment of Mathematics

There is no doubt that the onset of a new decade has brought high expectations of academic progress for scholars, especially for researchers in mathematics education. The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education was born in 1976, which focused on the international exchange of knowledge in the psychology of mathematics education, the promotion of interdisciplinary research with psychologists, mathematicians and mathematics teachers, and the development of the psychological aspects of teaching and learning mathematics and its implications.