Options
Teachers’ beliefs in a constructivist approach to teaching mathematical problem solving in Singapore primary school
Citation
Foong, P. Y. (1993, June). Teachers’ beliefs in a constructivist approach to teaching mathematical problem solving in Singapore primary school. Paper presented at the 6th Southeast Asia Conference on Mathematics Education, Surabaya, Indonesia.
Author
Foong, Pui Yee
Abstract
This paper reports on a study to examine in-service and pre-service teachers' pedagogical beliefs about teaching children mathematical problem solving in Singapore primary schools. A Likert scale questionnaire consisting of three subscales, for measuring teachers' pedagogical content beliefs was used. A high score on a scale indicated teachers' beliefs as towards a constructivist perspective, while a low score indicated a more traditional view. The subjects consisted of 55 in-service primary school teachers and 66 pre-service primary teachers. The findings suggested that there was variation in the in-service and pre-service teachers' beliefs toward a constructivist approach in teaching children mathematical problem solving. Both groups tended towards a traditional didactic perspective on Scale I where they believed that children might be able to
construct their own knowledge but in classroom learning teachers had to instruct for pupils to receive knowledge. However, both groups believed in the role of teachers as facilitators in pupils' mathematical problem solving on Scale II, but they were undecided about children's ability to solve simple arithmetic word problems on their own before the mastery of number facts.
Date Issued
June 1993
Description
This paper was presented at the 6th Southeast Asia Conference on Mathematics Education, held in Surabaya, Indonesia from 7 - 11 Jun 1993