Prospective B&H elementary school teachers’ understanding of processes with basic geometric concepts

Abstract

This study describes the mathematical proficiency of pre-service elementary school teachers in geometry within the paradigm: mathematical and methodical types of knowledge are necessary for teachers’ understanding of teaching and students’ learning of the basic geometric concepts. In order to define the parameters that allow us to consider students’ skills is mentioned paradigm, we tested 63 students of the third and fourth years of studies at two pedagogical faculties for teacher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina on a few questions about the relationship between the basic geometric objects -
points, lines and planes. We analyzed students’ reflections on these questions using quantitative and qualitative methods. Although the tested students have solid intuitive understanding of basic geometric objects ('level 0' by van Hiele’s classification), their understanding of the process with these geometric objects is much lower. This paper is written to formulate the hypothesis that the difficulties that have
been observed in the tested population were not the result of students' intellectual deficiency but, to a significantly greater extent, of insignificantly built components of geometric thinking during the previous school education.