Abstract

The purpose of this ongoing study is to examine practicing middle and secondary teachers’ different strategies and method of solutions towards given geometry problems in a hybrid (online & face-to-face) geometry course. The course is designed to encourage divergent thinking during small group problem solving while reflecting on and discussing solution processes. The participants are 25 middle and secondary mathematics teachers who are enrolled in a required graduate level geometry course which is part of a teacher education Masters Degree program. Data collection methods include online discussion board entries, in-class discussions, written solutions to given problems, and the teacher reflections on said problems. Preliminary results indicate different levels of divergent thinking when teachers are prompted to do so by course instructions. And that the use of technology such as online research, MS Excel, and Geometer's Sketchpad serve as key elements in sparking divergent thinking.

Citation

Corey, D. & Patterson, N. (2011). Promoting Divergent Thinking in a Hybrid Geometry Course: An Examination of Teachers’ Multiple Solution Approaches While Problem Solving in Geometry. In M. Koehler & P. Mishra (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE 2011--Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 212-217). Nashville, Tennessee, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 13, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/36261/.

Keywords

• discussion board
• geometry
• mathematics teaching