PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Conceptions of the Nature of Theorems in Geometry
Page: 1588
Proof plays an important role in school mathematics curriculum across grade levels and content areas. Being able to understand and apply the axiomatic system, such as with theorems, is considered as a high level of proof and reasoning ability in geometry. By adopting a collective case study design, I investigated preservice secondary mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs) conceptions of theorems in geometry, in order to develop knowledge about PSMTs’ current conceptions and provide mathematics educators and researchers with a possible means to unpack PSMTs’ conceptions. This proposal focuses on one dimension of PSMTs’ conceptions, the nature of theorems (NoT) in geometry. The Findings include interpretations of PSMTs’ conceptions of the NoT, in terms of the ways they claimed the truth of mathematical statements, examined the validity of given proofs, and disproved given statements, as well as the role of task-based interviews in understanding their conceptions.