Recent work by researchers in the area of teaching practice proposes that assisting teachers to reconstruct their epistemologies and beliefs about the nature of the subject to be learned appears to be a powerful way of enhancing teaching and learning in mathematics classrooms. A growing body of research questions the level of mathematical sense making of students in classroom based activities, suggesting that current classroom practice conceptualizations need improvements. / The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors relating to the decisions that teachers make about their practice, more specifically, teacher and students beliefs about mathematics, teaching and learning mathematics, various interactions and its relationships with what happen during classroom practice, via a case study of a high school teacher, in the context of Costa Rica. The case study provides a detailed description and analysis of the researcher's interpretation of the teacher and some of her students. This study was conducted under a constructivist framework. / Data for this research were collected over a six month period. The primary data sources were field notes from class observations, and formal and informal recorded interviews/discussions. The investigation also involved participant observations in the classroom and planning sessions. / A narrative of Sofia's experiences during the research progress was developed using themes such as metaphors, beliefs (about mathematics, teaching mathematics, and learning mathematics), and actions, to describe Sofia's teaching style. Another theme was regarding teacher's and students' roles, and their views about each other. / The researcher found that teaching is very complex. Throughout Sofia's actions there were evidences that different components were woven together. Sofia held two contrasting sets of beliefs. Sofia's stated beliefs were that the teacher's main role is to provide students with opportunities to construct meanings for themselves, while her beliefs-in-practice suggested that direct instruction (teacher as dispenser of knowledge) is an effective way to teach. When planning, Sofia was more influenced by the syllabus and topics to be covered than student knowledge. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: A, page: 4342. / Major Professors: Elizabeth M. Jakubowski; Grayson H. Wheatley. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77058 |
| Contributors | Diaz Obando, Evangelina., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 177 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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