Using Dynamic Geometry Software to Enhance Specialized Content Knowledge: Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions
Ruti Segal 1 2, Victor Oxman 1 3 * , Moshe Stupel 1 4
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1 Sha’anan College, Haifa, ISRAEL2 Oranim College, Kiryat Tivon, ISRAEL3 Western Galilee College, Acre, ISRAEL4 Gordon College, Haifa, ISRAEL* Corresponding Author

Abstract

The study aimed to expose how pre-service teachers perceived the value of an inquiry-based geometrical task with dynamic geometry software for increasing and deepening their understanding of the task itself, and for heightening their mathematical, pedagogical, and technological knowledge in the case of reflection and transformation. Twenty-seven pre-service teachers studying to become middle-school (junior high) mathematics teachers were assigned an inquiry-based geometrical task to explore – both by conventional, low-tech means (paper and pencil) and then in a dynamic geometry software (DGS) environment – the properties of objects formed by reflections in polygons (triangles and quadrilaterals) and to offer conjectures and proofs regarding the final polygon’s shape and area concerning the original. The results show that the majority of participants indicated that DGS provided a valuable instrument for revising and expanding their knowledge, that the assignment demonstrated the value that technological tools have in teaching and learning processes, and the importance of adapting learning tasks in geometry to a dynamic geometry environment for expanding and deepening geometrical and pedagogical knowledge and reasoning skills.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, 2021, Volume 16, Issue 3, Article No: em0647

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11065

Publication date: 13 Jul 2021

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Article Downloads: 1368

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