Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Abstract
A mathematical error which involves the reversal of natural referents for symbols is displayed to a substantial degree by high school teachers and university staff among others. It has been shown, moreover, that the phenomenon is difficult to correct by teaching methods. In the present study, a sample of final-year pre-service Education students destined for secondary-school teaching was asked to write a short verbal statement giving the same information as a simple algebraic equation and to construct an equation corresponding to a simple statement printed in plain language. A substantial proportion of students displayed reversal in both equation-interpretation and equation-formation modes. Students specialising in some academic fields appeared to be more prone to the error than those with other specialisations.
Recommended Citation
Cooper, M. (1986). Exhibition of the mathematical 'reversal error' by final-year secondary-teacher trainees. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.1986v11n1.6