Views of Mathematics Teachers to Evaluate the Mathematical Understandings of Students: SPUR Approach

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the views of mathematics teachers to evaluate students'mathematical understanding. For this purpose, holistic multi-case design, one of the qualitative research methods,was used in the study. In this context, the participants of the study consisted of 12 mathematics teachers who weredetermined by convenience sampling method. Research data were collected through a mathematical understandingevaluation form and semi-structured interviews prepared by the researchers. The analysis of the data wasconducted using a directed content analysis method based on skills, properties, uses and representations [SPUR]approach. The results of the study revealed that mathematics teachers partly consider the dimensions of the SPURapproach when evaluating students' mathematical understanding. Also, the results of the study demonstrated thatmathematics teachers mostly included the “skill” dimension of the SPUR approach in their evaluations, andalthough they wanted to include other SPUR dimensions in their evaluations, they could not do this adequately.