How do pre-service mathematics teachers respond to students’ unexpected questions related to the second derivative?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the how pre-service mathematics teachers respond to unexpected questions from students about the second derivative. A qualitative research method was used for this purpose, applying a case study framed as an in-depth analysis of how pre-service mathematics teachers respond to students’ ideas. The participants were 39 pre-service mathematics teachers who were in their final year of their mathematics teacher education program. The pre-service teachers, who participated voluntarily, were asked to respond to open-ended questions relating to a scenario that included a teacher, as well as her 12th-grade students. The written responses that the participants provided constitute the data of this study. The results revealed that most of the participants could not effectively answer an unexpected question from students. Nearly half of the participants stated that they could not answer the question. Others ignored it, while some acknowledged the question and attempted to give an answer. Moreover, a small number of the participants made an effort to explain and demonstrate the concept of concavity by drawing the graphs of the function and relating them to the first derivative. 

Keywords

• responding to student ideas
• unexpected question
• contingency
• Knowledge Quartet
• pre-service mathematics teachers
• derivative concept