Year of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Other Degree Name/Area of Focus

Mathematics Education

Department or School/College

Department of Mathematics

Committee Chair

Bharath Sriraman

Commitee Members

Albert Borgmann, Jon Graham, James Hirstein, Ke Norman

Keywords

Beliefs, Elementary Teacher Education, Mathematics

Abstract

This study sought to determine the relationship between participation in informal mathematics activities and the formal-to-informal beliefs of university teacher candidates in elementary education. Three classes of preservice teachers participated in the study through their enrollment in a content mathematics course for elementary education majors. Four informal mathematics activities were employed as part of the course requirements. Pre and post formal-to-informal beliefs about mathematics and mathematics instruction were measured using a Likert-scale beliefs assessment instrument used by Collier (1972) and Seaman et al. (2005). Changes in beliefs about mathematics and mathematics instruction were compared to a control group. Student reflection upon personal experience derived from participation in the activities was analyzed for formal and informal belief statements.

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© Copyright 2011 Matt B. Roscoe