The Relationship between Pre-service Teachers' Geometric Reasoning and their van Hiele Levels in a Geometer's Sketchpad Environment

Abstract

In this study, I investigated how pre-service teachers (PSTs) proved three geometric problems by using Geometer’s SketchPad (GSP) software. Based on observations in class and results from a test of geometric reasoning, eight PSTs were sorted into four of the five van Hiele levels of geometric reasoning, which were then used to predict the PSTs’ levels of reasoning on three tasks involving proofs using GSP. Findings suggested that the ways the PSTs justified their geometric reasoning across the three questions demonstrated their different uses of GSP depending on their van Hiele levels. These findings also led to the insight that the notion of “proof” had somewhat different meanings for students at different van Hiele levels of thought. Implications for the effective integration of technology into pre-service teacher education programs are discussed.