Teacher efforts towards the development of students’ mathematical reasoning skills

Abstract

Research shows that improved mathematical reasoning results in improved conceptual understanding and the application of mathematical knowledge to a variety of real-world contexts. The assessment of teacher efforts to help students develop their mathematical reasoning, however, and the identification of classroom practices that encourage this growth have received less attention in previous studies. A descriptive survey was conducted with 62 mathematics teachers from six randomly chosen public secondary schools in one district. Lesson observations were carried out in six randomly selected grade 11 classrooms from all participating schools to supplement teachers' questionnaire replies. Results show that more than 53% of the teachers believed that they had been making enormous efforts towards the development of students' mathematical reasoning skills. Nonetheless, some teachers were not found to be as supportive of students' mathematical reasoning as they believed they were. Additionally, the teachers did not leverage all of the opportunities that arose during instruction to support students’ mathematical reasoning. These results show the need for greater professional development opportunities geared towards orienting both in-service and prospective teachers on useful teaching strategies for fostering students' mathematical reasoning.