Classification and Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Errors in Solving Fermi Problems

Bibliographic Data

ID22043636
AuthorsCarlos Segura (0000-0002-1457-5740, Universitat de València, corresponding author), Irene Ferrando (0000-0003-3746-4581, Universitat de València)
Year2021
Volume11
Issue8
Pages451
Publication date2021-08-23
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci11080451
OpenAlexW3195511194
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

Fermi problems are useful for introducing modelling in primary school classrooms, although teachers’ difficulties in problem solving may hinder their successful implementation. These difficulties are associated with the modelling process, but also with the estimation and measurement skills required by Fermi problems. In this work, a specific categorization of errors for Fermi problems was established, and it allowed us to analyse the errors of N = 224 pre-service primary school teachers. The results showed that prospective teachers make a large number of errors when solving this type of task, especially conceptual ones, which are associated with the process of simplifying/structuring the real situation and the mathematization process. They also showed that there is a significant relationship between the characteristics of the problem context and the error categories. Knowing the types of errors that prospective teachers make and designing task sequences that make them emerge so that prospective teachers learn from them could be an effective way to improve initial teacher education in modelling and estimation problem solving

Categorization · Mathematics education · Structuring · Computer Science · Engineering · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy · Statistics Education and Methodologies · Artificial Intelligence

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access