Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge on Fractions as Operator in Word Problems

María del Mar López-Martín, Carmen Gloria Aguayo-Arriagada and María del Mar García López
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María del Mar López-Martín: Department of Education, University of Almeria, Carretera San Urbano, La Cañada, 04120 Almería, Spain
Carmen Gloria Aguayo-Arriagada: Department of Education, University of Almeria, Carretera San Urbano, La Cañada, 04120 Almería, Spain
María del Mar García López: Department of Education, University of Almeria, Carretera San Urbano, La Cañada, 04120 Almería, Spain

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: The preservice primary school mathematics teacher needs training that focuses on school mathematics and its didactics. Research has shown the importance of developing mathematical content knowledge as well as adequate didactic knowledge. Teacher education programs must address both to provide an effective teaching-learning process. The present research aims to assess the mathematical content knowledge of 194 prospective teachers about fraction word problems faced by students at the Primary Education stage, based on the Mathematics Teachers′ Specialized Knowledge (MTSK) model. By means of the preservice teachers’ written answers, we explored their knowledge and identified the associated error to fraction word problems (one-step and multistep) in which the fraction has a meaning as an operator. Preservice teachers showed some difficulties when working with this content, difficulties that were intensified when they solved multistep problems. The most common error founded in both types of problems is related to the meaning of fraction as operator. The results show a weak prior mathematical content knowledge and as a consequence, it is necessary to establish preventive actions in the training degrees since an insufficient mathematical content knowledge prevents them having a proper didactic knowledge.

Keywords: primary education; mathematical knowledge; fraction word problem; fractions as operator; teacher training (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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