Teachers’ awareness of students’ difficulties with algebra word problems
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
This paper reports findings from a diagnostic questionnaire completed by eight junior high school mathematics teachers in Ghana before participating in a Community of Practice. Analysis of the questionnaire explored how the teachers’ responses revealed aspects of their pedagogical content knowledge for teaching algebra word problems, particularly their awareness of task complexity, student reasoning, and potential misconceptions. Findings suggest that while the teachers demonstrated awareness of common student difficulties, their pedagogical content knowledge was uneven, especially in relation to explanations, representations, and curriculum-task use.
Keywords
mathematics pedagogy
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Date of Publication
2026
Publication Title
The 48th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia
Publisher
Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Inc.
School
School of Education
RAS ID
100079
Copyright
free_to_read
Recommended Citation
Kasimu, O., Murphy, C., & Hatisaru, V. (2026). Teachers' awareness of students' difficulties with algebra word problems. In N. Berger, M. Thompson, J. Ley, & C. Wilsmore (Eds.), Beyond boundaries: Strengthening futures in mathematics education. Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (pp. 218-225). MERGA.