Mathematics Teachers' Abstraction Levels and Multiple Approaches: The Case of Multiplicative and Divisibility Structure of Numbers

Mathematics Teachers' Abstraction Levels and Multiple Approaches: The Case of Multiplicative and Divisibility Structure of Numbers

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle and high school mathematics teachers' levels and multiple approaches in United States practicing their abstraction levels and, different strategies and method of solutions towards given number theory problems. The mathematics teachers taking part in this study are consisted of 25 members of online graduate and undergraduate course (MAE 5641 and MAE 4813) delivered through Online Learning System called as the Blackboard (http://www.blackboard.com). Data collection methods include journal entries, written solutions to problems, the teachers' reflections on said problems, and post interviews. Data analysis was done based on [Hazzan, O. & Zazkis, R. (2005). Reducing abstraction: The case of school mathematics. Educ. Stud. Math. 58(1), 101-119]. Analysis of students' written solutions revealed that transitions among the solution methods have major effect on abstraction levels. Elevation and reducing abstraction is a dynamic process.