Pre-service teachers’ use of the jump strategy on the empty number line for mental computation

Abstract

Background: South African teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and number sense are markedly low, evidenced in national and international research. There is a call for supporting teachers in developing their knowledge and confidence in teaching mathematics. Aim: The aim of this article is to share how pre-service teachers (PSTs) used the empty number line (ENL) to demonstrate the jump strategy (JS) for efficient mental computation, related to the national Mental Starters Assessment Project (MSAP). Setting: This study was conducted at a tertiary institution in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, with 40 first-year intermediate phase PSTs, during their mathematics didactics course. Methods: The data comprised 40 micro-teaching videos, analysed thematically, following an analytical model for video-recorded data. Videos were categorised according to the way they faithfully followed or departed from the MSAP teacher resources. Results: Findings suggest that more than 70% of the PSTs faithfully followed the teacher resources to teach the JS on the ENL, with regards to use of at least three of the four key elements, namely: ENL, jumps, gesturing, and key phrases and terminology. Conclusion: We suggest PSTs receive explicit instruction on the above-mentioned key elements for teaching mental calculation strategies with the ENL and opportunities to practise teaching these to their peers. Contribution: Most PSTs successfully used the ENL to demonstrate the JS for efficient mental computation, enabled by the opportunity to engage in developing (and reflecting on their) micro-teaching videos.