Number sense of final year pre-service primary school teachers

Abstract

Number sense studies have indicated that the development of number sense should be the focus of primary school mathematics education. The literature review revealed that learner performance is linked to teacher subject knowledge and that teachers’ confidence in doing and teaching mathematics influences the way they teach and their willingness to learn mathematics. This study was motivated by the poor performance of Namibian primary school learners in both national and international standardised assessment tests and explored the number sense of 47 final-year primary school pre-service teachers (PSTs) in Namibia. The data in this mixed method research design were obtained from a number sense questionnaire, a written computations questionnaire, a mental calculations questionnaire and the McAnallen confidence in mathematics and mathematics teaching survey (MCMMTS). Six PSTs, randomly selected from the 47 participants, were interviewed to determine their use of number-sensible strategies. The overall results of this investigation revealed that the final year primary school PSTs demonstrated limited number sense and possessed very few of the indicators of number sense. Unexpectedly, the confidence survey showed that they were confident in their ability to do and to teach mathematics. This study exposed one reason for the low standards of performance of Namibian learners in mathematics and the lack of improvement over the last few decades. It indicates a need for teacher training institutions to identify the mathematics that teachers should know and the ways in which teacher understanding of subject content has to be transformed to enable them to develop the number sense of primary school learners.

Proportional reasoning ability of school leavers aspiring to higher education in South Africa

“…She went on to say that 'many adults, including middle school teachers … and preservice teachers … struggle with the same concepts and hold the same primitive ideas and misconceptions as students do' (Lamon, 2007, p. 633). Courtney-Clarke and Wessels (2014) found that only 25% of preservice teachers in a study in Namibia could recognise the relative size of two common fractions in a comparison problem.…”

Fraction Sense: An Analysis of Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Cognitive Obstacles

“…Preservice mathematics teachers with good fraction sense usually have the skill and expertise needed to manage fractions. However, the fact is that most preservice teachers' skills in fraction sense remain low (Courtney- Clarke & Wessels, 2014;Iuculano & Butterworth, 2011;Lamberg & Wiest, 2014;Sengul & Gulbagci, 2012;Whitacre & Nickerson, 2016;Yaman, 2015;Yang, Reys, & Reys, 2009). Such skills are used not only when doing mathematical calculations, but also in daily life.…”

“…Research on cognitive obstacles related to fraction sense assignments is crucial, because it aids in understanding how these obstacles can be minimised. Meanwhile, most of the previous decade's research on preservice mathematics teachers related to fraction sense tests studied the fraction sense strategy used, the preservice teachers' low performance in the fraction domain, their understanding of representation and computation skills, their reasoning of fraction amounts, and their mental calculation (Courtney- Clarke & Wessels, 2014;Lemonidis, Tsakiridou, & Meliopoulou, 2018;Şengül, 2013;Son & Lee, 2016;Whitacre & Nickerson, 2016;Yang, Reys, & Reys, 2009). Consequently, a set of information is further required to acknowledge preservice teachers' cognitive obstacles on fraction sense tests.…”

An Investigation of Pre-Service Elementary and Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Number Sense

“…Bu amaç doğrultusunda katılımcıların sayı hissinin ölçülmesine gerek duyulmuş ve bunun için bir literatür taraması yapılmıştır. Literatür taramasında öğretmen adaylarıyla yapılan çalışmalarda genellikle Yang (1995) tarafından geliştirip 6. ve 8. sınıf öğrencilerine uygulanan sayı hissi testinin kullanıldığı görülmüştür (Courtney-Clarke & Wessels, 2014;Tsao, 2004b). Bu testin katılımcıların seviyesine uygun olmadığı düşünülerek çalışma kapsamında "Sayı Hissi Testi" (SHT) olarak adlandırılan bir ölçme aracının geliştirilmesine karar verilmiştir.…”