Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore South African student teachers’ misconceptions in transformation geometry and address these through the lens of the van Hiele theory. It has been observed that students have weak knowledge of geometry is attributed to, among other factors, teachers’ incompetence in geometric knowledge. Teachers’ inability to communicate geometry content to students in ways that allow construction of students’ own conceptual knowledge, has been identified as a problem. Literature suggests that the van Hiele theory of geometric reasoning has a potential to enhance students’ conceptual understanding of geometry, bridge the communication gap between teachers and students and help towards addressing the misconceptions that students have with the learning of geometry. Eighty-two Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase Teachers trainees were involved in the qualitative research study. An action research approach was used and data were collected firstly through pre-tests, followed by interviews with selected students, to get insight into the causes of the errors identified in the students’ test scripts. A van Hiele phase-based intervention programme was then designed and implemented, in order to address the students’ misconceptions and associated errors, as well as improve the researcher’s own practice. Students then wrote a post-test to determine the extent to which the van Hiele phase-based instruction helped address the misconceptions. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Various codes and patterns were formulated into themes that addressed the research questions...
Ph.D. (Mathematics Education)