Early years´trainee teachers´geometric knowoledge : the case of defining a rectangle

Abstract

Teachers’ knowledge is one crucial aspect on students learning. Such knowledge can be perceived in a wide range of perspectives, being one of the most prominent the conceptualization of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching, and its specificities linked with the labor of teaching. In mathematical activity, definitions can be perceive as essential as they are transversal to the different topics and they constitute a basic component of the mathematical structure. Being Geometry one of the areas in which both students and teachers reveal difficulties, and polygons, in particular rectangles, one core domain in which many other topics are sustained, improving students and teachers knowledge on definitions is of fundamental importance. This paper discusses some problematic aspects on prospective teachers’ knowledge on definitions, discussing the particular case of defining a rectangle. It intends to devise some insights on the reasons behind the main difficulties in order to allow conceptualize ways for improving training.