The Relationships Among Pre-service Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs about Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching, and Use of Technology in China

Abstract

This paper investigated pre-service mathematics teachers' mathematics beliefs, beliefs about information and communication technology (ICT), and their relationships. 787 pre-service mathematics teachers in China completed a survey questionnaire measuring their beliefs about the nature of mathematics, beliefs about mathematics learning and teaching, attitudes toward ICT, and beliefs about ICT use in mathematics education. Descriptive statistics, simple correlation analysis, and step-wise progression analysis were performed in the data analysis. The results indicate that pre-service mathematics teachers' dynamic belief about the nature of mathematics, constructivist belief about mathematics learning and teaching, and positive attitudes towards ICT are more likely to be correlated with their constructivist belief about ICT use. In contrast, their traditional beliefs about the nature of mathematics and its learning and teaching are more likely to be associated with their traditional beliefs about ICT use.

An attempt to identify the issues underlying the lack of consistent conceptualisations in the field of student mathematics-related beliefs

“…Authors are not only creating but also adopting, from others, definitions that are not useful from a practical perspective. For example, Thompson’s [2] definition of conceptions, discussed above, has been frequently adopted by a number of authors over a long period—in 2015 alone it was quoted by Yang and Leu [59], Rolka and Roesken-Winter [93], and Sumpter [58] among others. Similarly, Schoenfeld [24] broad definition “beliefs are one’s mathematical worldview, the perspective one takes to approach mathematics and mathematics tasks”, has been adopted in the last few years by several researchers including Tsiapou [94], Jackson [95], and Bofah [60] to frame their studies.…”

“…(data retrieved October 1 st , 2019). Most recent papers as De Corte [9], Sumpter [58], Yang [59], Bofah [60], Ren [61], Hannula [5], and Diego-Mantecón [62] were also selected to cover latest research, although they do not obviously count with so many citations. To avoid sampling bias, chapters from well-known books in the field of mathematics-related beliefs, such as Leder [63], Pepin [64] or Hannula [11] were also examined.…”

Early Undergraduate Emirati Female Students’ Beliefs about Learning Mathematics Using Technology

“…Similarly, one of the research participants in a study by Drijvers et al (2015) stated that "the calculators are mainly needed for performing an algorithm or computing an approximate value, and it seems to be a kind of mechanical use of a calculator" (p. 76). It is a practice tool for many students while using technology during the learning of mathematics (Yang & Leung, 2015). MS Excel spreadsheet is especially useful in exploring mathematical concepts, including "numerical and graphical methods to solve problems" (Drier, 2001, p. 170).…”

“…There is skepticism around how technology, such as calculators and computers, help students in Responses making the meaning of mathematical process and how to achieve such a goal to develop conceptual understanding, although it may support in visualization and concretization of many mathematical concepts (Utterberg & Lundin, 2017). Technological tools may not be effective for students to learn some content, such as algebra, because of the requirement of mental and operational manipulation by the learners (Yang & Leung, 2015). Some technological tools, such as multimedia technology, helps students make a connection between the contents they already knew to the new contents, thus facilitating their learning (Marshall, 2002).…”

Schools overcoming the digital divide: in depth analyses towards organizational resilience in the computer and information literacy domain

“…Several international studies have shown that teachers' attitudes towards the potentials of ICT for teaching and learning are a relevant factor for the implementation and/or use of ICT for teaching (Aesaert et al 2015; Ainley 2018; Buabend-Andoh 2012; Drossel et al 2016;Hatlevik and Hatlevik 2018;Petko et al 2018;Tomczyk et al 2015;Tondeur et al 2017;Yang and Leung 2015). Especially for Germany there are many indications of the importance of teachers' attitudes and beliefs with regard to ICT in teaching and learning.…”