ERIC Number: EJ1376272
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jun
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: EISSN-1573-0816
Pre-Service Teachers' Flexibility and Performance in Solving Fermi Problems
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v113 n2 p207-227 Jun 2023
Fermi problems are real-context estimation tasks that are suitable for introducing open-ended problems in primary school education. To ensure their effective introduction in the classroom, teachers must have adequate proficiency to deal with them. One of the key aspects of problem-solving proficiency is flexibility, but there are few studies on flexibility in solving real-context problems. This study, based on an analysis of the errors made by 224 prospective teachers when solving a Fermi problem sequence, establishes performance levels. In addition, we define levels of flexibility in using multiple solutions across the sequence, which allows us to address the main objective: to study the relationship between performance and flexibility. We found that there are significant relationships between flexibility levels and the number and severity of errors made. Encouraging flexibility in prospective teachers may be an efficient way to improve their performance in solving real-context problems.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Problem Solving, Elementary School Teachers, Performance, Foreign Countries, Preservice Teacher Education
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A