Algebraic Content and Pedagogical Knowledge of Sixth Grade Mathematics Teachers : Through Document Analysis

Abstract

Research indicates that mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge of teachers play a crucial role in teaching mathematical concepts in a way that helps students develop conceptual understanding of the subject matter. Conceptual understanding has been linked with the ability of the teacher to explain certain concepts. It is proven that teachers who have a deep understanding of the content and pedagogy foster better student performance as they will employ better instructional practices than teachers who lack an in-depth understanding of the content and pedagogy. Documents and written materials such as lesson plans and notes can provide rich information and evidence in qualitative studies. Research shows that pedagogical knowledge of teachers could be observed through teachers’ lesson plans and lesson notes. This paper examined algebraic content and pedagogical of sixth grade mathematics teachers through analysis of lesson plans, lesson notes, textbooks, and reference materials they used. Content of all algebra lesson plans and notes (N=80) and prescribed textbooks (N=3) were analyzed. Results showed that some of the algebraic concepts explained in the textbooks were incorrect. As teachers failed to detect these incorrect concepts it raised serious questions with regard to algebraic content and pedagogical knowledge of sixth grade mathematics teachers. Moreover, analysis of the textbooks showed that the focus of the textbooks was on procedural fluency rather than conceptual understanding. Last, but not least, teachers followed these textbooks word for word blindly indicating that they not only lacked content knowledge but also pedagogical knowledge to teach algebra.