PROCEEDINGS OF THE 22ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2019
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Pre-service teachers’ concept image of numeral
Page: 1197
David Tall’s Three Worlds of Mathematics provides a framework through which to study the development of mathematical thought, the three worlds being the embodied, the symbolic, and the formal. This poster shares initial investigations and findings into how the concept of numeral is situated in the symbolic world, beginning with developing a concept image for numeral that is held by pre-service elementary teachers. An analysis of eight mathematics textbooks for pre-service teachers provided an initial definition. Additionally, students in a college mathematics content course for pre-service elementary teachers completed a survey. The participants in the survey were given several symbols and prompted to respond whether or not they believed the symbol represented a numeral. Results of the textbook analysis and the survey were used to understand the students’ concept image of numeral.