Mathematics Teachers’ Ability to Investigate Students’ Thinking Processes About Some Algebraic Concepts

Abstract

The study investigated Mathematics teachers’ ability to evaluate students’ thinking process about some algebraic concepts. The study involved 156 Mathematics teachers randomly selected from some Public Secondary Schools in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Open ended questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. The teachers were required to respond in detail to the questions asked. The research design was a qualitative one and expository method was used in the analysis of the data collected. It was revealed that, though the teachers showed some success in understanding the students’ errors and misconceptions, great majority of them could not assess students’ thinking process. The study also revealed that most of the teachers were unable to ask competent questions that could help in evaluating the students’ thinking process. Another important finding was the difficulty the teachers themselves had in understanding the problem situations, and hence asked irrelevant questions or make irrelevant statements. It was suggested that training workshops be organized for the teachers to improve their subject matter knowledge about the concepts studied.

Keywords: Ability, Thinking process, Algebraic concepts