ERIC Number: EJ1109132
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Aug
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
EISSN: N/A
The Status of Proving among US Secondary Mathematics Teachers
Kotelawala, Usha
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v14 n6 p1113-1131 Aug 2016
This report examines teachers' self-espoused attitudes and beliefs on proving in the secondary mathematics classroom. Conclusions were based on a questionnaire of 78 US mathematics teachers who had completed at least 2 years of teaching mathematics at the secondary level. While these teachers placed importance on proving as a general mathematical skill, when they discuss their own classrooms, procedural skill consistently surpasses proof-related activities in importance for a majority of high school teachers. Furthermore, teachers labeling their own past experiences in proving as causing anxiety are predictably more likely to put less value on proving. Interestingly, the quantity of past college mathematics courses is a reverse predictor indicating that further study should consider how students perceptions of proving change as they pass through a mathematics major.
Descriptors: Teacher Attitudes, Secondary School Mathematics, Mathematics Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Mathematics Skills, Teaching Skills, Validity, Mathematical Logic, High Schools
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A