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When intuitive conceptions overshadow pedagogical content knowledge: Teachers’ conceptions of students’ arithmetic word problem solving strategies

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Abstract

Intuitive conceptions in mathematics guide the interpretation of mathematical concepts. We investigated if they bias teachers’ conceptions of student arithmetic word problem solving strategies, which should be part of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In individual interviews, teachers and non-teaching adults were asked to describe students’ strategies in situational contexts within or outside the scope of the intuitive conception. The results revealed that teachers relied on their PCK and identified student strategies; however, in the presence of the intuitive conception, their PCK was overshadowed and they ceased to differ significantly from non-teachers. This brings the attention to certain biases that can have a strong impact on teachers’ efficient use of PCK.

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Notes

  1. Si stands for situation.

  2. MA stands for mental arithmetic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paragraphe Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Paris 8, 2 rue de la liberté, Saint-Denis, France

    Katarina Gvozdic & Emmanuel Sander

  2. IDEA Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 40, 1211, Genève 4, Switzerland

    Katarina Gvozdic & Emmanuel Sander

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  1. Katarina Gvozdic
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  2. Emmanuel Sander
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Correspondence to Katarina Gvozdic.

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Gvozdic, K., Sander, E. When intuitive conceptions overshadow pedagogical content knowledge: Teachers’ conceptions of students’ arithmetic word problem solving strategies. Educ Stud Math 98, 157–175 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-018-9806-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-018-9806-7

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