Factors Affecting Preservice Mathematics Teachers' Spatial Orientation Errors and Causes Behind Those Errors

• In Event: Teacher and Student Beliefs and Practices Around Mathematics, Errors, Assessment, and Space

Abstract

Students need to have recourse to their spatial orientation skills to make sense of various mathematics topics and to deal with many mathematics tasks. However, spatial orientation is one of the ignored aspects of mathematics education. In this study, we tried to shed light on this ignored aspect of mathematics education by focusing on the factors affecting pre-service teachers’ (n=44) spatial orientation errors and the causes of their spatial orientation errors. A sequential mixed method approach guided us for collecting and analyzing the data. Participants’ multiple-perspective drawings revealed that the complexity of spatial information and viewing-directions to a structure influenced the errors. From the interviews, we reached that the challenges connected to processing spatial information and perspective-taking caused those errors.

Authors

• Feyza Kurban, Burdur Necati Topay Mesleki ve Teknik Anadolu Lisesi
  Presenting Author

• Huseyin Bahadir Yanik, Anadolu University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Terri L. Kurz, Arizona State University
  Non-Presenting Author