Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

Abstract

This paper has a focus on what can be learned about teachers’ knowledge by analyzing their responses and written reflections to items developed to measure mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). 30 teachers’ responses, as well as written reflections, to one testlet (five items) are analyzed and discussed. The items focus on relational and operational understanding of the equal sign. The results indicate that analyses of teachers’ written reflections provide a richer picture of teachers’ knowledge than analyses of responses to the multiple-choice items only. It also appears that teaches draw upon different domains of MKT in their written reflections than the items were developed to measure. INTRODUCTION