Preservice mathematics teachers’ beliefs about peer feedback, perceptions of their peer feedback message, and emotions as predictors of peer feedback accuracy and comprehension of the learning task

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a more student-centered approach to mathematics teaching that is recommended by many policy and curriculum documents across Europe. However, it is not easy for teachers to change from a more teacher-centered way of teaching to inquiry-based teaching as this involves a change of their role in class. Professional development courses are one way to help teachers with this endeavor. Within the discussion of effective professional development, beliefs are often named as an important influencing factor. In this respect, much research has been carried out on how beliefs on mathematics teaching impact the outcomes of the course. However, there has been much less research on what beliefs mathematics teachers develop on inquiry-based learning and how this might impact their (perceived) classroom teaching. Therefore, this paper presents an international research study carried out within the European Project Primas, in which professional development courses on inquiry-based learning were conducted in 12 countries. Using the case-study approach, this paper aims at answering the following questions: 1. What kind of beliefs about IBL do mathematics teachers across Europe develop? 2. How do these beliefs relate to teachers’ perceived enactments of IBL?

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The Effect of Problem Solving Course on Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about Problem Solving in School Mathematics and Themselves as Problem Solvers

Magistra Iadertina ◽

10.15291/magistra.1494 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 141-159

Author(s):

Ljerka Jukić Matić

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

School Mathematics ◽

Small Scale ◽

Heuristic Strategies ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Before And After ◽

Problem Solvers ◽

Positive Effect

Problem solving in schools begins with mathematics teachers. The degree to which mathematics teachers are prepared to teach for, about and through problem solving influences on their implementation of problem solving in school. We conducted a small scale study where we examined the effect of implementation of heuristic strategies and Polya’s steps in mathematics method course. We assessed pre-service teachers’ knowledge and attitudes about them as problem solvers before and after the course. Moreover we assessed their beliefs of problem solving in school mathematics. Those beliefs were assessed in two occasions: right after the course and after finished teaching practice. Although students’ knowledge on problem solving was improved, the results of students’ beliefs show that it is important that pre-service teachers, and consequently in-service teachers, are constantly reminded on the positive effect of constructivist and inquiry-based approach on teaching mathematics.

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Knowledge convergence among pre-service mathematics teachers through online reciprocal peer feedback

Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal ◽

10.34105/j.kmel.2017.09.001 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Concept Maps ◽

Peer Feedback ◽

School Students ◽

Team Members ◽

Knowledge Representations ◽

Before And After ◽

Knowledge Convergence ◽

Group Members

This research focused on pre-service mathematics teachers’ sharing of knowledge through reciprocal peer feedback. In this study, pre-service teachers were divided into groups of five and engaged in an online reciprocal peer feedback activity. Specifically, after creating an individual concept map indicating high school students’ possible solutions to an algebra problem, pre-service teachers shared their individual maps with team members and engaged in online discussion, commenting on the concept maps of other group members and responding to peers’ feedback. Similarities in team members’ knowledge representations before and after this peer feedback activity were compared in order to analyze their knowledge convergence. It was found that a team member’s knowledge was more likely to match that of other team members after the online reciprocal peer feedback activity. Qualitative analysis was also conducted in order to explore the possible influence of a team’s interaction process on members’ knowledge convergence. It was also found that, after engaging in this peer feedback process, pre-service teachers demonstrated greater improvement in their convergence of concepts relating to problem-solving strategies than in the concepts representing problem context and domains.

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