Article
Pre-service teachers’ interpretations of mathematical reasoning
Mathematics Education Across Cultures: Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
(2020)
Abstract
Calls for teaching school mathematics with a focus on mathematical reasoning (MR) are included in
curricular documents across the world, but little is known how prospective teachers (PSTs)
understand MR. In this paper, we report on a study in which we engaged 24 PSTs preparing to teach
grades 1-8 in analyzing a series of student-generated arguments for evidence of student reasoning
with a focus on student-provided justifications. We examined PSTs’ interpretations of MR prior to
and after instruction. Our results showed that PSTs interpreted MR broadly in terms of student
thinking, validating thinking, problem-solving, connecting ideas, or sense-making. Some PSTs also
interpreted MR as evidence of student understanding or described MR in terms of strategies teachers
use to support students’ reasoning skills. We discuss changes in PSTs’ interpretations of MR after
instruction.
Disciplines
Publication Date
December, 2020
DOI
10.51272/pmena.42.2020
Citation Information
Park, H., & Magiera, M. T. (2020). Pre-service teachers’ interpretations of mathematical reasoning. In Sacristán, A.I., Cortés-Zavala, J.C. & Ruiz-Arias, P.M. (Eds.). Mathematics Education Across Cultures: Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, (pp. 1677- 1681). Mexico. Cinvestav / AMIUTEM / PME-NA. DOI: 10.51272/pmena.42.2020.