{"id":{"repo_id":"uno","oai_identifier":"oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1153"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uno/oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-1153","repository":{"repo_id":"uno","name":"University of New Orleans","base_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Student Perceptions of the Defining Aspects of a Mathematics Methods Course that Aided in the Development of a Conceptual Understanding of Mathematics","abstract":"The purpose of this study was to ascertain pre-service teachers' perceptions of the defining aspects of a mathematics methods course that aided in the development of a conceptual understanding of mathematics. These perceptions emerge from the narratives of four pre-service teachers in a mid-size metropolitan university in the southeastern part of the United States. Grounded in the theory of constructivism this study focuses on the educational experiences of pre-service teachers, as reported by pre-service teachers, creating a portrait of their journey. These pre-service teachers' learning experiences were based on national standards with a constructivist instructional approach and included field experience in a school environment. Analysis of the data revealed that pre-service teachers attributed their increase in conceptual understanding of mathematics to 'touching/doing activities' that required them to 'explain why'. Use of models and manipulatives aided in helping the pre-service teachers verify and justify their solutions to others, providing concrete items to use in explaining abstract concepts. Ultimately, requiring pre-service to explain their own thought processes, with and without manipulatives, aided them in developing a conceptual understanding of mathematics.","abstract_html":"The purpose of this study was to ascertain pre-service teachers' perceptions of the defining aspects of a mathematics methods course that aided in the development of a conceptual understanding of mathematics. These perceptions emerge from the narratives of four pre-service teachers in a mid-size metropolitan university in the southeastern part of the United States. Grounded in the theory of constructivism this study focuses on the educational experiences of pre-service teachers, as reported by pre-service teachers, creating a portrait of their journey. These pre-service teachers' learning experiences were based on national standards with a constructivist instructional approach and included field experience in a school environment. Analysis of the data revealed that pre-service teachers attributed their increase in conceptual understanding of mathematics to 'touching/doing activities' that required them to 'explain why'. Use of models and manipulatives aided in helping the pre-service teachers verify and justify their solutions to others, providing concrete items to use in explaining abstract concepts. Ultimately, requiring pre-service to explain their own thought processes, with and without manipulatives, aided them in developing a conceptual understanding of mathematics.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Edmiston, Patricia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Curriculum and Instruction","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Speaker, Richard","Bedford-Whatley, April","Gifford, Charles"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-05-21T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-05-21T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:04Z","subjects":["teacher education","constructivism"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/149","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Speaker, Richard","Bedford-Whatley, April","Gifford, Charles"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Edmiston, Patricia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum and Instruction"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["teacher education","constructivism"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/149"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to ascertain pre-service teachers' perceptions of the defining aspects of a mathematics methods course that aided in the development of a conceptual understanding of mathematics. These perceptions emerge from the narratives of four pre-service teachers in a mid-size metropolitan university in the southeastern part of the United States. Grounded in the theory of constructivism this study focuses on the educational experiences of pre-service teachers, as reported by pre-service teachers, creating a portrait of their journey. These pre-service teachers' learning experiences were based on national standards with a constructivist instructional approach and included field experience in a school environment. Analysis of the data revealed that pre-service teachers attributed their increase in conceptual understanding of mathematics to 'touching/doing activities' that required them to 'explain why'. Use of models and manipulatives aided in helping the pre-service teachers verify and justify their solutions to others, providing concrete items to use in explaining abstract concepts. Ultimately, requiring pre-service to explain their own thought processes, with and without manipulatives, aided them in developing a conceptual understanding of mathematics."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Student Perceptions of the Defining Aspects of a Mathematics Methods Course that Aided in the Development of a Conceptual Understanding of Mathematics"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Speaker, Richard","Bedford-Whatley, April","Gifford, Charles"],"dc:creator":["Edmiston, Patricia"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to ascertain pre-service teachers' perceptions of the defining aspects of a mathematics methods course that aided in the development of a conceptual understanding of mathematics. These perceptions emerge from the narratives of four pre-service teachers in a mid-size metropolitan university in the southeastern part of the United States. Grounded in the theory of constructivism this study focuses on the educational experiences of pre-service teachers, as reported by pre-service teachers, creating a portrait of their journey. These pre-service teachers' learning experiences were based on national standards with a constructivist instructional approach and included field experience in a school environment. Analysis of the data revealed that pre-service teachers attributed their increase in conceptual understanding of mathematics to 'touching/doing activities' that required them to 'explain why'. Use of models and manipulatives aided in helping the pre-service teachers verify and justify their solutions to others, providing concrete items to use in explaining abstract concepts. Ultimately, requiring pre-service to explain their own thought processes, with and without manipulatives, aided them in developing a conceptual understanding of mathematics."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/149"],"dc:subject":["teacher education","constructivism"],"dc:title":["Student Perceptions of the Defining Aspects of a Mathematics Methods Course that Aided in the Development of a Conceptual Understanding of Mathematics"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum and Instruction"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:28:04Z"}