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Selected Works of Marta T. Magiera
Article
An Extensive Analysis of Preservice Middle School Teachers' Knowledge of Algebraic Thinking
AERA (2010)
  • Marta T. Magiera, Marquette University
  • Leigh A. van den Kieboom, Marquette University
  • John C. Moyer, Marquette University
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Abstract
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 their own problem solving, and we asked students
to use them to analyze the algebraic thinking of middle school students. The data revealed that
pre-service teachers’ AT abilities varied across different features of algebraic thinking. In
particular, their ability to justify a rule was the weakest of seven AT features. The ability to
recognize and interpret the algebraic thinking of students was strongly correlated with the
strength of the pre-service teachers’ own algebraic thinking. Implications for mathematics
teacher education are discussed.
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2010
Citation Information
Magiera, M.T., van den Kieboom, L., & Moyer, J. (2010). An extensive analysis of preservice elementary teachers’ knowledge of algebraic thinking. Paper presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Denver, CO, April 30, 2010. Retrieved from the AERA Online Paper Repository http://www.aera.net/repository.