Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students

Priestly Malambo; Sonja van Putten; Hanlie Botha; Gerrit Stols

doi:10.29333/ejmste/99510

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Priestly Malambo ¹, Sonja van Putten ² ^* , Hanlie Botha ², Gerrit Stols ²

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¹ University of Zambia, Lusaka, ZAMBIA² University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study investigated student mathematics teachers’ ability to recognise and explain their understanding of school level functions. We challenged the assumption that studying advanced mathematics automatically develops an understanding of school mathematics that is sufficient to explain concepts and justify reasoning. This case study tested this assumption by exploring the depth of pre-service mathematics student teachers’ understanding of school function concepts at the University of Zambia. The test items required calculation, as well as justification of the answers, and an explanation of the concepts. Of the 22 participants, all final year mathematics education students, 18 student teachers scored below the 50% pass mark. The average mark was 8 out of a possible 28 (27%). The majority of the participants found it difficult to explain and justify their reasoning. This study resulted in the development of a new school mathematics module for prospective mathematics teachers at the University of Zambia.

Keywords

mathematics education students
secondary school functions
mathematical knowledge for teaching

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2019, Volume 15, Issue 1, Article No: em1651

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

Publication date: 01 Nov 2018

Article Views: 3337

Article Downloads: 3642

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How to cite this article

APA

Malambo, P., van Putten, S., Botha, H., & Stols, G. (2019). Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(1), em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

Vancouver

Malambo P, van Putten S, Botha H, Stols G. Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(1):em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

AMA

Malambo P, van Putten S, Botha H, Stols G. Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(1), em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

Chicago

Malambo, Priestly, Sonja van Putten, Hanlie Botha, and Gerrit Stols. "Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2019 15 no. 1 (2019): em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

Harvard

Malambo, P., van Putten, S., Botha, H., and Stols, G. (2019). Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(1), em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510

MLA

Malambo, Priestly et al. "Dysfunctional Functions: The Case of Zambian Mathematics Education Students". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 15, no. 1, 2019, em1651. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/99510