Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge of Comparing Decimals

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate prospective elementary teachers’ (PsETs) mathematical and didactical knowledge of comparing decimals. Thirty-two fourth-year PsETs from an elementary school teacher education study program in Indonesia participated in this study. Each PsET is asked to solve a mathematical task of comparing decimals presented in the hypothetical teacher task (HTT), and then the PsETs use their mathematical knowledge to build their didactical knowledge collectively (pairs). Their mathematical and didactic knowledge is analyzed based on the anthropological theory of the didactic, especially praxeology. The findings indicate that PsETs have various techniques to solve the comparing decimal task, but some of them find it difficult to explain those techniques.