Between Natural Language and Mathematical Symbols (<, >, =): The Comprehension of Pre-Service and Preschool Teachers- Perspective of Numbers

Abstract

This article presents a quantitative and qualitative study comparing how pre-service and preschool teachers perceive the relational symbols (<, > and =), perspective of numbers. The study population comprised 71 pre-service teachers participating in a course dedicated to teaching and learning early childhood mathematics and 149 in-service preschool teachers. A large proportion of the participants did not answer the questions correctly or give suitable reasons for their answers. There was a significant difference between the two groups, with the pre-service teachers giving a significantly greater number of correct answers and explanations. The conclusions arising from this study are that preschool teachers do not correctly comprehend the true significance of <, >, and =, and therefore are unlikely to teach them correctly.

Perspective of “Quantity” between Natural Language and Mathematical Symbols (&lt;, &gt;, =): The Comprehension of Pre-Service and Preschool Teachers

“…This study, similar to a previous study by Hassidov and Ilany (2017) found that most of the participants failed to answer the questions correctly. The justifications given to the four questions show a significant difference between the pre-service and preschool teachers with respect to how many justified their an-…”

“…even when the answer given was correct ("X"), the justification was generally incorrect. These findings support the study regarding how pre-service teachers and preschool teachers understand relational symbols (<, >, =) with respect to numbers (Hassidov & Ilany, 2017).…”

“…For example, a child in grade one may write "6 < 4" because the four looks bigger and thicker than the six, indicating that he is looking at the numbers as graphical entities and not mathematical ones. Such instances have led to the study of how pre-service and preschool teachers themselves use these mathematical symbols (Ilany & Hassidov, 2012;Hassidov & Ilany, 2017).…”

“…If teachers incorrectly understand the use of mathematical symbols, it is reasonable to assume that they will subsequently pass this misinformation on to the children, leading to incorrect use in the future. It is thus crucial to teach the proper mathematical use of symbols from the preschool level (Hassidov & Ilany, 2017).…”

“…In a study dealing with the knowledge of pre-service teachers and preschool teachers regarding their understanding of the significance and use of mathematical symbols between numbers, Hassidov and Ilany (2017) found that pre-serviceand preschool teachers do not fully understand that mathematical symbols should relate only to the mathematical nature of the object. If one number was written in a larger, smaller, or thicker format than another, they often regarded the physical qualities and not the mathematical (i.e., the values of the numbers).…”