While proof has been studied from different perspectives in the mathematics education literature for decades, students continue to struggle to build proof comprehension. Complicating this, the manner in which proof comprehension is assessed largely remains to be the definition-theorem-proof format in which students are asked to reproduce proofs or…

Mathematical "magic," or experiences of beauty and creativity for K-12 mathematics students, can contribute to deepened content understanding. However, creating opportunities for mathematical "magic" in mathematics classrooms has been a challenge for classroom practitioners. To support development of these experiences in…

Only a limited number of research has examined preservice preschool teachers' attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching mathematics, likely because there are no instruments aimed at preschool settings that have appropriately established psychometric properties. In the current study, we addressed this deficit and aimed to adapt the Preschool…

Preservice teachers study an academic discipline (e.g. mathematics) and -- just like students majoring in that discipline -- have a certain level of connectedness to it. While studying, students may compare themselves to peers studying the same discipline within alternative degree programs, characterized by different study contexts. Notably,…

Mathematics Preservice Teachers' (M-PSTs) conceptions of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) enhance their reflective skills because they utilize such conceptions to reflect on how to contextualize content knowledge during secondary mathematics teaching. While previous studies suggested M-PSTs develop MKT, including pedagogical content…

Ambiguity of language can form a barrier to understanding mathematical concepts. The word 'capacity' is problematic as it holds a variety of meanings and might not be understood in school mathematics, to be an aspect of volume. We investigated pre-service primary school teachers' interpretations of 'capacity' when given the definitions of 'volume'…

It is difficult for mathematics teachers to find and utilize relevant historical content for their students. In this study, we aimed to examine how prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) evaluate the history of mathematics (HM) in curriculum resources and how they integrate the HM into lesson plans. We collected data through PMTs' evaluation…

Drawing on autobiographical essays written by master's students in mathematics preparing to become teachers, we investigate what mathematical identity these students articulate and how. By means of a discursive thematic analysis centered on the notion of ascesis, we show that the participants' identity revolves around a characterization of…

We know that making mistakes in mathematics is an inherent attribute of doing mathematics deeply. Yet, making mistakes is at the root of mathematical fear and anxiety for elementary preservice teachers (PSTs). Valuing mistakes in mathematics is an essential part of shifting from deficient views to asset views of mistakes and having better…

The ability to solve mathematical problems has been an interesting research topic for several decades. Intuition is considered a part of higher-level thinking that can help improve mathematical problem-solving abilities. Although many studies have been conducted on mathematical problem-solving, research on intuition as a bridge in mathematical…

This study aims to examine the concept images of pre-service mathematics teachers for the concepts of single-variable and multivariable functions. In the present research, which was conducted with the case study method, a test consisting of three open-ended questions was used to obtain data about the definition of the concept of function and the…

This is a comprehensive study aiming to examine pre-service primary school teachers' (PPST) mathematical disposition levels in terms of various variables, and to explain the results thoroughly. It employed the explanatory sequential design among the mixed method research designs. The data were collected through Mathematics Dispositional Functions…

This study focuses on the potential of university mathematics courses to advance teachers' knowledge regarding an important component of knowledge about the nature of mathematics as a scientific discipline, namely the mutual contribution between mathematics and various fields: mathematics contributes to solving problems in different fields, and…

In this practitioner-focused article, the authors present a mathematical writing activity for preservice elementary school teachers. The products of this activity, referred to as "journals," are detailed, representation-rich explanations of problems solved in small groups. These journals were originally exchanged across institutions in a…

The small angle approximation sin[theta approximately theta] is central to all treatments of the simple pendulum as a harmonic oscillator and is typically asserted as a result that follows from calculus. Here, however, we show that the geometry of the pendulum "itself" offers a route to understanding the origin of the small angle…