Attitudinal and Cognitive Beliefs of Two Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers

The objective of this paper is to present attitudinaland cognitive beliefs of two preservice secondary mathematics teachers aboutteaching geometric transformations (GTs) using Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP). Thestudy comprised ten task-based interviews, a series of five each with twoparticipants, senior undergraduate preservice mathematics teachers, at amedium-sized public university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the UnitedStates of America. Radical constructivist grounded theory (RCGT) was thetheoretical framework used both to guide the study process as well as tointegrate the research participants, the researcher, research process, and thedata. The results of the study include in vivo categories of the participants’beliefs associated with attitude and cognition of teaching GTs with GSP. Theseinclude developing confidence with GSP, efficiency of using GSP for teachingGTs, exploring GTs with GSP, conjecturing GTs using GSP, supporting andengaging students in learning GTs, and understanding GTs with GSP. Somepedagogical and policy implications of these categories are also addressed.