Pre-Service Teachers’ Reasoning and Sense-Making of Growing Patterns

Proceedings of The 6th World Conference on Research in Education

Year: 2023

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/6th.worldcre.2023.06.105

[PDF]

Pre-Service Teachers’ Reasoning and Sense-Making of Growing Patterns

Olteanu Constanta, and Olteanu Lucian

ABSTRACT: 

In this study, our aim was to present the features of pre-service teachers’ reasoning and sense making in the process of exploring tasks related to growing patterns. The study involved 79 pre-service primary teachers in Sweden. Our analysis was grounded in the concept of critical aspects from variation theory, as well as the concepts of assemblage, lines of flight, segmentarity, and rupture, from a post-structuralist philosophical perspective. The results indicate that the concepts of assemblage, lines of flight, rupture, and segmentarity can serve as useful tools for analyzing reasoning and sense making in mathematics. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that in mathematics, the concept of “line of flight” can be observed in moments of creativity and innovation. Additionally, the findings reveal that “rupture” manifests when there is a connection between concepts or ideas that challenge established mathematical structures and modes of thinking. Moreover, the results show that “segmentarity” creates disciplinary boundaries and hinders reasoning and sense-making. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize and dismantle these boundaries to facilitate more creative and innovative reasoning and sense making in mathematics.

keywords: reasoning, sense making, growing pattern, assemblage, variation theory, difference, repetition