Graphing calculators and computers give students marvelous opportunities to explore and discover relationships more efficiently than they can by using nontechnological methods. However, lessons whose only objective is to learn about the technological tool are often not especially interesting and may not serve the best interests of the learner. In particular, we think that learning about the technology can occur better in the context of concept development. We believe that such learning not only encourages the use of the technology by supplying a real-world example but also enhances students' learning of the concept that is presented. The technology often furnishes opportunities for extending the original content of the lesson to include insights that could not have been addressed otherwise. An example is the following recent experience that we had with a model lesson presented to a group of high school teachers.
This paper reports on the development and initial exploratory research with an instrument designed for diagnostic use with preservice teachers of secondary school mathematics. The structure of the “Teaching Situation Reaction Test for Teachers of Secondary School Mathematics” (TSRT-TSSM), the criteria purported to be measured by the TSRT-TSSM, and the nature of the samples involved in the exploratory studies involving the TSRT-TSSM are presented. The exploratory studies indicated that total test scores for teachers predicted to be highly effective were significantly higher than those for teachers predicted to minimally effective and for a number of the teacher behavior characteristics being measured the profiles of the 2 groups were significantly different. Use of the instrument in a diagnostic setting suggests potential for communication of useful information to a preservice teacher of his behavior characteristics. Further revision of the instrument is suggested.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.