Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge for Teaching

Kim Beswick, University of Tasmania Email: [email protected] Telephone: +61 3 6324 3167 Facsimile: +61 3 6324 3048 Abstract: Forty-two middle school mathematics teachers were presented with two mathematics problems, one requiring a percentage of an amount to be calculated and the other involving the interpretation of a pie chart showing percents. The teachers were firstly asked to provide responses, both appropriate and inappropriate, to each of the questions that they thought their students would supply, and to indicate which of these responses were appropriate. They were then asked to suggest how they would use each item in the classroom and, in particular, how they might respond to one of the inappropriate responses that they anticipated from their students. The results suggest that use of such items is an effective way to access teachers’ knowledge of mathematics as well as of their students as learners.