Mathematical Connections and Their Relationship to Mathematics

Knowledge for Teaching Geometry

Jennifer A. Eli

Carl W. Lee

The University of Arizona

University of Kentucky

Margaret J. Mohr-Schroeder
University of Kentucky

Effective competition in a rapidly growing global economy places demands on a society to produce individuals
capable of higher-order critical thinking, creative problem solving, connection making, and innovation. We must look
to our teacher education programs to help prospective middle grades teachers build the mathematical habits of mind
that promote a conceptually indexed, broad-based foundation of mathematics knowledge for teaching which encompasses the establishment and strengthening of mathematical connections. The purpose of this concurrent exploratory
mixed methods study was to examine prospective middle grades teachers mathematics knowledge for teaching
geometry and the connections made while completing open and closed card sort tasks meant to probe mathematical
connections. Although prospective middle grades teachers mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry was below
average, they were able to make over 280 mathematical connections during the card sort tasks. Curricular connections
made had a statistically significant positive impact on mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry.

Effective competition in a rapidly growing global

economy places demands on a society to produce individuals capable of higher-order critical thinking, creative
problem solving, connection making, and innovation. In
response to these demands, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (1989) published the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics
followed by the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) (2000), and the Curriculum Focal Points
for Prekindergarten Through Grade 8 Mathematics: A
Quest for Coherence (2006). Within the executive summary
of the 2000 document is the guiding principle students
must learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge from experience and previous knowledge (p. 2). The PSSM also highlights the importance of
problem solving and establishing connections, when students connect mathematical ideas, their understanding is
deeper and more lasting, and they come to view mathematics as a coherent whole (p. 4).
We must look to our teacher education programs to help
prospective middle grades teachers build the mathematical
habits of mind that promote a conceptually indexed, broadbased foundation of mathematics knowledge for teaching
that encompasses the establishment and strengthening of
mathematical connections. Prospective middle grades
teachers have been charged with the demanding task of
helping middle grades students construct mathematical
knowledge, establish mathematical connections, and
develop mathematical habits of mind needed for problem
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solving (Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences

[CBMS], 2001). Mathematical habits of mind encompass
the skills needed to reason mathematically, communicate
understanding of mathematics to others, and the ability to
make connections not only within various strands of mathematics but to other disciplines as well. In particular, the
curriculum must include making connections between
mathematical concepts and between concepts and representations for the concepts. If prospective middle grades
teachers are expected to construct, emphasize, integrate,
and make use of mathematical connections, then they must
acquire an understanding of mathematics that is fluid,
supple, and interconnected (Evitts, 2005). Without understanding the connections among the important, functional
concepts in mathematics, prospective middle grades
teachers will be ill equipped to effectively engage middle
grades students in mathematical connection making, reasoning, and problem solving.
Prospective middle grades mathematics teachers are
typically trained in three types of programs: elementary,
secondary, and those that directly prepare middle grades
teachers. The Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century
(MT21) (2007) report, a cross-national study of the preparation of prospective middle school teachers, found that
future U.S. middle school mathematics teachers who were
prepared through an elementary program had stronger
pedagogical preparation, while those prepared through a
secondary program had a stronger mathematics preparation (Schmidt et al., 2007). However, in contrast to
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prospective middle grades teachers in other countries,

future U.S. middle school teachers prepared through a
middle grades program had weaker preparation in both
mathematics and pedagogy (Schmidt et al., 2007). Thus,
prospective middle grades teachers prepared through a
middle grades program in the United States need stronger
mathematical and pedagogical preparation.
Given the importance of mathematics knowledge for
teaching (described later) and mathematical connection
making, an exploratory mixed methods investigation of
prospective middle grades teachers mathematical connection making would inform mathematics educators and
researchers seeking further understanding behind effective
and ineffective prospective middle grades teacher preparation. Furthermore, by providing descriptions of prospective middle grades teachers mathematics knowledge for
teaching geometry and their mathematical connections,
this study will aid those wishing to construct mathematical
tasks for explicit connection making. Such tasks may
include creating opportunities for prospective middle
grades teachers to analyze errors, and to evaluate alternative methods or representations. This study aspires to add
to the knowledge base of what we know about prospective
middle grades teachers mathematical connections and
mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry.
Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics
Teacher education programs are being challenged as
never before to prepare prospective mathematics teachers
in ways that will enhance teaching and learning of mathematics well into the 21st century. Teachers mathematics
knowledge, knowledge of teaching, and knowledge of students thinking and general beliefs about teaching influence
what is taught and ultimately what students learn (Ball
& Bass, 2003; Ball, Lubienski, & Mewborn, 2001; Ball &
McDiarmond, 1990; Fennema & Franke, 1992; Hiebert &
Carpenter, 1992). Scholars have come to realize subjectmatter knowledge and pedagogy are inseparable and form
an indissoluble relationshipconceptualized in one way as
pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1986).
Researchers have begun to explore the idea that teaching quality might not relate so much to performance on
standard tests of mathematics achievement as it does to
whether teachers knowledge is procedural or conceptual,
whether it is connected to big ideas or isolated into small
bits . . . (Hill & Ball, 2004, p. 332). Hill, Schilling, and
Ball (2004) set out, at the elementary level, to map out
what elementary teachers knew regarding pedagogical
content knowledge. What they found through their
multiple-choice assessment of over 300 teachers was
School Science and Mathematics

teachers mathematics knowledge for teaching the elementary grades was partly domain specific rather than relating
to their teaching or mathematical ability. In their 2005
article, Hill, Rowan, and Ball formally introduced the
notion of mathematics knowledge for teaching (MKT).
By mathematical knowledge for teaching, we mean
the mathematical knowledge used to carry out the
work of teaching mathematics. Examples of this
work of teaching include explaining terms and concepts to students, interpreting students statements and
solutions, judging and correcting textbook treatments
of particular topics, using representations accurately
in the classroom, and effects of teachers mathematical knowledge on student achievement providing students with examples of mathematical concepts,
algorithms, or proofs. (Hill et al., 2005, p. 373)
The MKT framework provides a lens for recognizing and
classifying various mathematical connections made by
prospective middle grades teachers.
Hill et al. (2005) study of MKT in the elementary
grades presented remarkable and groundbreaking research
for the mathematics education community. In addition to
finding that teachers MKT positively affected mathematics achievement during the first and third grades, their
results suggested measures of teacher knowledge should
be at least content specific and better yet, specific to the
teaching of the grade level. Their results also confirmed
studying Shulmans (1986) pedagogical content knowledge as a subject-specific behavior is critical. Furthermore, Hill et al. (2008) found teachers MKT to be
strongly related to the mathematical quality of their
instruction. In a survey conducted by the National Bureau
of Economic Research to examine a set of non-traditional
predictors of effectiveness in new mathematics teachers in
New York City, which included several MKT measures by
Hill and her colleagues (2005), only MKT was a significant predictor of student outcomes (Rockoff, Jacob, Kane,
& Staiger, 2008).
Teaching mathematics effectively requires prospective
middle grades teachers to (a) have a deep understanding
not only of the mathematics they will be teaching but of
the mathematics their students will encounter as they
move through the educational system; and (b) have a deep
conceptual understanding of the subject matter along with
the ability to make connections between and within disciplines. This allows teachers to make informed decisions
about the appropriate pedagogy to use in their classrooms
(CBMS, 2001; Fennema & Franke, 1992; Hill et al., 2005;
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Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

Ma, 1999). By developing an understanding of MKT,

mathematicians and mathematics educators will be able to
help prospective teachers access and unpack knowledge in
a connected, effective manner.
Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching Geometry
Numerous national educational groups consisting of
mathematicians, mathematics educators, and classroom
teachers have offered recommendations for the preparation of prospective middle grades mathematics teachers in
the area off geometry (CBMS, 2001; National Mathematics Advisory Panel [NMAP], 2008; NCTM, 2000; RAND
Mathematics Study Panel, 2003). Geometry is one of the
most interesting areas of mathematics to teach not only for
its appeal to the visual senses, but also for its historical
significance in the development of mathematics. Geometry lends itself well to making rich connections with
the rest of mathematics, including topics and themes in
discrete and continuous mathematics as combinatorics,
algorithmic thinking, geometric series, optimization, functions, limits, trigonometry and more (Goldenberg,
Cuoco, & Mark, 1998, p. 23). Geometry is one of the
focus areas for the NCTM (2000) content standards and
NCTM (2006) Curriculum Focal Points and as such, prospective middle grades teachers must be prepared to effectively teach this subject. The National Assessment of
Educational Progress identified weaknesses in the performance of U.S. students on mathematical concepts, in particular geometry concepts, as compared with students in
other countries (Gonzales et al., 2000). More specifically,
students lacked the ability to perform well on spatial visualization and problem solving (Battista, 1999).
A contributing factor to U.S. students weak performance on geometric concepts could be attributed to the
mathematical knowledge for teaching geometric concepts
held by teachers. The MT21 and the recent Breaking the
Cycle report, both cross-national studies of the preparation
of middle school teachers, found prospective middle
grades teachers mathematics knowledge in the areas of
algebra and geometry to be weak in comparison with
prospective middle grades teachers in other countries
(Center for Research in Math and Science Education,
2010; Schmidt et al., 2007). Prospective middle grades
teachers may not possess the subject-matter knowledge
and pedagogical content knowledge needed to effectively
teach geometric concepts (Grover & Conner, 2000; Swafford, Jones, & Thorton, 1997).
Mathematical Connections
What is a mathematical connection? Hiebert and Carpenter (1992) described mathematical connections as part
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of a network structured like a spiders web; the junctures,

or nodes, can be thought of as pieces of represented information, and threads between them as the connections or
relationships (p. 67). Mathematical connections can also
be described as components of a schema or connected
groups of schemas within a mental network. Marshall
(1995) posits that a defining feature of schema is the
presence of connections. The strength and cohesiveness of
a schema is dependent on connectivity of components
within the schema or between groups of schemata. This
model suggests prospective middle grades teachers learn
mathematics through assimilating or connecting new
information into their mental networks, forming new connection(s) between existing knowledge components,
accommodating or reorganizing their schemata to address
perturbations in their knowledge structure and to correct
misconceptions.
Although mathematical connections have been defined,
described, or categorized in various ways, the common
thread is the idea of a mathematical connection as a link
or bridge between mathematical ideas. For the purposes
of this study, a mathematical connection is a link (or
bridge) in which prior or new knowledge is used to establish or strengthen an understanding of relationship(s)
between or among mathematical ideas, concepts, strands,
or representations.
Mathematical understanding requires students to make
connections between mathematical ideas, facts, procedures, and relationships (Hiebert & Carpenter, 1992; Ma,
1999; Moschkovich, Schoenfeld, & Arcavi, 1993; Skemp,
1989); mathematical connections are tools for problems
solving (NCTM, 1989, 2000). As Hodgson (1995) points
out, . . . the investigation of problem situations leads naturally to the establishment and use of connections. . . . Connections are . . . integral components of successful problem
solving (p. 18). Thus, prospective middle grades teachers
must be prepared to make connections between the content
to be learned and their students understanding.
Although there are a few studies examining mathematical connections of prospective teachers at the elementary
and secondary level (Bartels, 1995; Donigan, 1999; Evitts,
2005; Hau, 1993; Roddy, 1992; Wood, 1993), there is little
research on mathematical connections made by prospective teachers at the middle grades level. Traditionally, measurements of teachers knowledge have been assessed
using variables such as coursework, degree(s) earned, certification routes, Praxis scores, and years taught. As a
result, the empirical evidence establishing a connection
between teachers mathematics knowledge of teaching and
student achievement has been limited (Wilson, Floden, &
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Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). To help address this concern,

researchers have developed valid and reliable mathematics
assessments for middle and elementary teachers mathematics knowledge for teaching (see Hill et al., 2005; Saderholm, Ronau, Brown, & Collins, 2010).
An exploratory study of mathematics knowledge for
teaching geometry and its relationship to the mathematical
connections made by prospective middle grades teachers
while engaged in mathematical tasks is needed to inform
scholars who wish to establish or refine such instruments
at the middle grades level. Furthermore, the study will
inform curriculum developers and program evaluators
who wish to revisit their education programs for prospective middle grades teachers. Mathematics knowledge for
teaching not only requires making visible the connection
to the kinds of mathematical thinking, judgment [and]
reasoning one has to do in teaching (Ball et al., 2009, p.
29), but also unpacking the mathematics sufficiently and
convincingly helping them [prospective teachers] see what
there is to learn and do (p. 29).
Theoretical Framework
Constructivist influence has had a substantial impact on
a number of national curricular documents, in particular,
the NCTM (1989, 2000) standards and the Curriculum
Focal Points (NCTM, 2006). These documents, which are
grounded in social constructivist principles, support a
vision of classroom mathematics where students explore
mathematical situations by engaging in both written and
oral communication of mathematical ideas. These ideas
are transmitted through social interaction where they are
then validated or modified. Hence, students assume the
role of mathematicians by actively participating in a community effort for thinking, learning, creating, and evaluating mathematics. Prospective teachers, however, are not
always afforded the opportunity to engage in such practice. Imagine walking into a typical, modern university
mathematics course; what might you see? Would you see
students working together in collaborative fashion actively
engaging in mathematical conversation to solve problems
or would you see a professor lecturing to a group of arguably attentive students? In 1996, nearly 80% of university
class time is spent in lecture while only 14% of the time is
devoted to class participation (the other 6% spent on
teacher questions, praise, and criticism) (Nunn, 1996);
however, the 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results indicate there has been a significant
and steady upward trend, in large public universities, in
engaging first-year students in active and collaborative
learning. In addition, 55% of the science, technology,
School Science and Mathematics

engineering, and mathematics students surveyed indicated

working with other students to solve mathematical or computational problems, while only 37% indicated they
worked on a project requiring hands-on physical design or
technical modeling (NSSE, 2009).
In the last decade, K-12 public school systems across
the country have been inundated with reform curricula
encompassing connection-rich material grounded in a
constructivist theory which posits students learn best when
they are allowed to discover (through inquiry) and build
mathematics while interacting with other students.
Teachers are often expected to teach mathematical topics
and skills in ways substantially different from the ways in
which they themselves learned the content (Boaler &
Humphreys, 2005, p. x). Thus, even the strongest reform
curricula pose a challenge to those involved with prospective teacher preparation. Our prospective middle grades
teachers must not only possess a strong understanding of
mathematics content and pedagogy but should exhibit
mathematical connections between and among concepts.
With the focus on K-12 students ability to make mathematical connections, prospective teachers must be flexible in facilitation and integration of these reform
curricula in their classroom.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to examine prospective
middle grades teachers mathematics knowledge for
teaching geometry and the connections made while completing tasks meant to probe mathematical connections.
Specifically, the following question was investigated:
What is the relationship between prospective middle
grades teachers mathematics knowledge for teaching
geometry and the types of mathematical connections made
while completing open and closed card sort tasks meant to
probe mathematical connections?
Mixed Methods Research Design
A concurrent exploratory mixed methods design of
combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches
served as a model for the overall study. Mixed methods
research helps answer questions that cannot be answered
using only qualitative or quantitative methods alone, providing a more complete picture by noting trends and
generalizations as well as in-depth knowledge of participants perspectives (p. 33) (for a full description of the
mixed methods framework used for this study and the
overall study, please see Eli, Mohr-Schroeder, & Lee,
2011). The research study is exploratory as it generates
information about unknown aspects of a phenomenon
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(Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009, p. 25); in this case, (a) the

types of mathematical connections prospective middle
grades teachers make when engaged in tasks meant to
probe mathematical connections and (b) how these connections are related to prospective middle grades teachers
MKT. The quantitative data collection via the Diagnostic
Teacher Assessment in Mathematics and Science
(DTAMS) preceded qualitative data collection via the
Card Sort Activity (CSA). The quantitative results of the
DTAMS assessment (phase 1) did not directly inform or
drive the construction of the CSA (phase 2) instrument.
The quantitative data from the DTAMS and the qualitative
data from the CSA were analyzed separately; results and
findings merged during interpretation.
Population
The targeted population for this study was prospective
middle grades teachers at a large mid-south university. The
sampling frame was derived from a comprehensive list of
prospective middle grades teachers meeting the following
criteria: (a) declared middle school education major (n =
90), and (b) actively pursuing a middle school certification
in two content areas, one of which was mathematics (n =
58). All prospective middle school teachers meeting both
criteria were contacted for voluntary participation in this
study. All 58 eligible participants were contacted, of
which, 28 elected to participate. Most participants were
female (n = 22, 78.6%). There were 14 juniors (50%) and
14 seniors (50%). At the time of data collection, six were
student teachers (21.4%).
Instrumentation
In the larger study, there were three data collection
instruments administered to prospective middle grades
teachers; a DTAMS focused on geometry and measurement, a Mathematical Connections Evaluation (MCE),
and a CSA. For this study, the DTAMS and CSA data were
used.
DTAMS
The first instrument was the DTAMS developed by the
University of Louisvilles Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Teacher Development (CRMSTD)
(Saderholm et al., 2010). The DTAMS is comprised of
four content domains: number and computation, geometry
and measurement, probability and statistics, and algebraic
ideas. For the purposes of this study, the DTAMS focused
on the domain of geometry and measurement was
selected. The domain of geometry and measurement consists of the following subcategories: two-dimensional
geometry, three-dimensional geometry, transformational/
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coordinate geometry, and measurement. The 20-item

assessment is composed of 10 multiple-choice and 10
open-response questions. In particular, the assessment
measures four types of mathematics knowledge: (a)
memorized knowledge, (b) conceptual knowledge, (c)
problem solving and reasoning, and (d) pedagogical
content knowledge. These content-valid items have been
repeatedly tested and implemented in several institutions
across the United States. As a measure of internal consistency, the instrument has Cronbachs alpha a = .87 with
number of cases n = 429.
The DTAMS instrument served as a quantitative
measure of prospective middle grades teachers MKT
geometry. To strengthen the validity in use of the DTAMS
assessment as a quantitative measure of prospective
middle grades teachers MKT, each item on the DTAMS
instrument was mapped to a subcategory of the MKT
framework (Hill et al., 2008). The researcher in consultation with mathematicians and mathematics educators
mapped each DTAMS item to the most appropriate subcategory in the MKT framework. The DTAMS is scored
out of total of 40 points by professional staff at the University of Louisvilles CRMSTD. The MKT framework is
divided into two major components-subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledgeand further
broken down into subcategories. Those items that were
mapped into the subject-matter knowledge component
represented 30 of the 40 points (75%). Those items
mapped into the pedagogical content knowledge component represented 10 of the 40 points (25%). In particular,
items that were mapped into the Common Content Knowledge subcategory (mathematical knowledge and skill that
is known by most educated adults) represented 11 out of
40 points (27.5%). Items that were mapped into the Specialized Content Knowledge subcategory (mathematical
knowledge and skill unique to teaching) represented 19
out of 40 points (47.5%). Items that were mapped into
Knowledge of Content and Students and Knowledge of
Content and Teaching categories (knowledge that combines knowledge of mathematics with knowledge of students and teaching, respectively) represented 10 out of 40
points (25%). There were no items on the DTAMS that
could be mapped into the knowledge at the mathematical
horizon (knowledge of how mathematical topics are
related across the curriculum) and knowledge of the curriculum subcategories. To date, there is no empirical evidence on how knowledge at the mathematical horizon and
knowledge of curriculum play a role in MKT, which could
explain why there are no questions of this nature on the
DTAMS assessment. The DTAMS instrument served as a
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Figure 1. Arrangement of cards for CSA.

good measure of MKT for this particular study by allowing the researcher to examine the relationship(s) between
particular subcategories of MKT and types of mathematical connections prospective middle grades teachers make
when engaged in tasks meant to probe mathematical connections. The instrument was administered to participants
in a separate setting prior to the CSA interviews.
CSA
Upon completion of the MCE interview reported in a
separate study (Eli, under review), participants completed
a CSA. The CSA consisted of 20 cards labeled with
various mathematical terms, concepts, definitions, and
problems. Figure 1 illustrates the arrangement of these 20
cards.
Construction of the cards were based on and aligned to
national recommendations, in particular, Recommendations for the Mathematical Education of Teachers (CBMS,
2001), PSSM (NCTM, 2000), and Curriculum Focal
Points for Prekindergarten Through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence (NCTM, 2006).
School Science and Mathematics

The purpose of the CSA was to examine the types of

connections prospective middle grades teachers make
between various mathematical concepts, definitions, and
problems. Participants were asked to complete a repeated
single criterion open card sort and closed card sort
(Fincher & Tenenberg, 2005; Rugg & McGeorge, 2005).
In the closed card sort, five particular pairs were chosen
based on national recommendations (CBMS, 2001;
NCTM, 2000, 2006) for what middle school teachers and
students should know and be able to do. The cards chosen
were also influenced by content from the reform middle
school curriculum textbook series Connected Mathematics 2: Grade 6, 7, and 8 (Lappan, Fey, Fitzgerald, Friel, &
Phillips, 2006) and three university mathematicians.
For the open card sort, participants sorted the cards
based on a single criterion: their perceived notion of how
the statements on the cards were connected. The
researcher developed a protocol of interview questions
for both the open and closed card sorts that focused on
students mathematical connections. The design of the
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protocols was influenced by Rugg and McGeorges (2005)

recommendations for carrying out card sorting techniques.
Collection of Data
Prior to the full study, a pilot study and quality review
(Halff, 1993; Tessmer, 1993) were conducted. For this
study, which was part of a larger study, data were collected
via the DTAMS and CSA. The pool of eligible
participantsprospective middle grades teachers actively
pursuing a middle grades education major leading to certification in mathematicsfell into two groupsthose
enrolled in a problem-solving course for prospective
middle grades teachers (n = 22) and those not enrolled in
the course. The problem-solving course, taught out of the
mathematics department, is a required course in the
middle grades mathematics program at the university. The
DTAMS assessment was administered first. For those
enrolled in the problem-solving course, the DTAMS
assessment was administered by the course instructor
during the class period (the assessment was a regular part
of the course). The problem-solving course instructor was
not given access to the identity of students who consented
to participate in the study. For those not enrolled in the
problem-solving course, the DTAMS was administered by
the researcher. All participants were given approximately
75 minutes to complete DTAMS assessment. All participants (enrolled and not enrolled in the problem-solving
course) completed the DTAMS assessment within the
same two-week time period. The CSA was conducted
outside of class and after completion of the DTAMS
assessment.
After completing the DTAMS assessment, all participants were provided with a two-week block for scheduling
the CSA interviews. The procedures and content for the
CSA interview session for all participants were identical.
During the interview sessions, participants took approximately 4560 minutes to complete the MCE. Upon
completion of the MCE interview, participants took
approximately 3045 minutes to complete the CSA. The
MCE and CSA interviews were audio and video recorded
with permission.
In the open card sort, 20 cards were arranged on a table
in a four-by-five array (Figure 1). The cards were arranged
the same way for each participant. Participants were asked
to select a subset of two or more cards they felt were
related or connected. They were then asked to explain why
the cards they had selected were related or connected.
After giving an explanation, participants returned the
cards back to the four-by-five array. They were then asked
to select another subset of cards they felt were related or
126

connected from the four-by-five array. This procedure

allowed participants to reuse cards. This process was
repeated until the participant indicated they could not
make any more subsets.
In the closed card sort, the researcher selected five pairs
of cards and asked if each pair of cards were related or
connected and, if so, why? The five pairs of cards chosen
were cards 6 and 11, cards 2 and 4, cards 15 and 17, cards
4 and 15, and cards 9 and 16. The researcher selected the
first pair of cards, 6 and 11, and placed them in front of the
participant. The participant was then asked if the pair of
cards were related or connected and, if so, why? Once the
participant provided a response, cards 6 and 11 were
returned to the four-by-five array (Figure 1). This procedure was carried out for each of the aforementioned pairings of cards, and in the order listed.
Analysis, Results, and Discussion
The DTAMS assessment served as a quantitative
measure of prospective middle grades teachers MKT
geometry. In order to make comparisons of prospective
middle grades teachers MKT geometry and mathematical
connections made during the CSA, the DTAMS data had
to be quantitatively analyzed. Skewness and kurtosis were
computed, and a deficiency of extreme elevated skewness
and kurtosis was noted. The fit of the DTAMS total scores
to a normal distribution was assessed through a Shapiro
Wilk test (W = .946 with n = 28 and p = .153); the
researchers failed to reject the null hypothesis; therefore
the data fit the normality assumption. Cronbachs alpha, a,
was used to assess the internal consistency reliability for
the DTAMS assessment. The coefficient alpha of a = .768
suggests that the questions comprising the DTAMS instrument for this sample were internally consistent. The mean
DTAMS score of the 28 participants was 27.79 out of a
possible score of 40 (standard deviation [SD] = 5.971;
range = 1838).
Types of CSA Open Sort Connections
Participants responses in the CSA were qualitatively
analyzed. There were a total of 258 open card sorts. An
inductive analysis on participants interview responses to
the open sort activity resulted in the following five categories: categorical, characteristic/property, curricular, procedural, and derivational. A mathematical connection was
deemed categorical if the participants explanation relied
upon the use of surface features primarily as a basis for
defining a group or category. For instance, a participant
who put cards 9 and 14 together, explaining The formulas
look similar. The a would be the x and b would be your y
so c would be your r (P252, CSA Transcript, Sort 4)
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would be making a categorical connection. A mathematical connection was deemed characteristic/property if the
participants explanation for the sort involved defining the
characteristics or describing the properties of concepts in
terms of other concepts. For instance, a participant who
grouped cards 19, 20, and 3 together because A rectangle
has two sets of parallel sides and four ninety degree
angles (P876, CSA Transcript, Sort 7) was making
characteristic/property connection. A mathematical connection was considered curricular if the participants
explanation for the sort involved relating ideas or concepts
in terms of the impact to curriculum, including but not
limited to, the order in which one would teach concepts or
topics. For instance, a participant who stated the following
as a reason for grouping cards 15 and 6 together was
making a curricular connection.
If you were going to teach a lesson on circles, you
would have to teach them [middle grades students]
area and circumference rules. They would fall in the
same lesson you would teach them. They would have
to understand pi and radius for both of them. The
circumference of a circle its perimeter . . . thinks like
[sic] triangle and rectangle so my students would
understand what circumference is. (P678, CSA Transcript, Sort 9)
A mathematical connection was considered procedural if
the participants explanation for the sort involved relating
ideas based on a mathematical procedure or algorithm
possible through the construction of an example; which
may include a description of the mechanics involved in
carrying out the procedure rather than the mathematical
ideas embedded in the procedure. A participant who stated
the following as a reason for putting cards 4 and 10
together was making a procedural connection.
The derivative is move the exponent in front and subtract exponent by 1, so the derivative of f of x equals x
squared is 2x. Whenever Ive seen derivative, they
always use f of x equals x squared or whatever and f
prime of x is the derivative. Ive had experience taking
the derivative of things that look like this. (P291, CSA
Transcript, Sort 4)
A mathematical connection was considered a derivation
connection if the participants explanation for the sort
involved knowledge of one concept(s) to build upon or
explain other concept(s); included but not limited to the
recognition of the existence of a derivation. For instance, a
School Science and Mathematics

participant who stated the following as a reason for grouping cards 5, 15, 18, 8, and 6 together was making a derivational connection.
I can derive the formula for the volume and surface
area of a cylinder using the area of a circle and circumference of a circle. To find the volume of a cylinder, you take the area of the base times its height,
which is the number of layers you stack, and since the
base of a cylinder is a circle, then you know the area of
circle which is pi r squared. Then to find the surface
area of the cylinder, you would take area of both its
bases plus unroll cylinder would give you a rectangle.
The length of the rectangle would be circumference of
circular base. You could also do the same to find the
volume and surface area of a rectangular prism. (P758,
CSA Transcript, Sort 1)
The lead author and a mathematician coded all the open
card sorts using these five categories (Miles & Huberman,
1994). Together, they categorized 12 open card sorts (with
each mathematical connection type represented at least
twice) in order to become more familiar with the descriptions for each mathematical connection type and to help
establish consistency in the coding. The second coder
independently coded a randomly selected sample of
approximately 53% of the open card sorts (n = 137). Interrater reliability analysis using a kappa statistic (Cohen,
1960) was performed to determine consistency among
coders. The level of agreement among coders was found to
be substantially strong (Landis & Koch, 1977) with
kappa = .74. The CSA data were then quantitized
(Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009, p. 27) by tallying the types of
connections made in order to perform statistical analysis.
Relationship of MKT Geometry and Types of CSA
Open Sort Connections
Although there were 258 open card sorts, there were 287
mathematical connections made that fell into one or more
of the CSA open sort connection categories. A participants response for grouping particular cards together
could fall into one or more of the aforementioned mathematical connection categories. To further investigate the
research question, bivariate analysis using Pearson correlations were calculated between each connection type in
the CSA open sort and DTAMS scores. Table 1 displays a
count of CSA open sort connection types broken down by
DTAMS scores.
There were no statistically significant correlations found
between categorical, characteristic/property, procedural,
and derivational connection types with DTAMS scores.
127

Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

Table 1
Counts of CSA Open Sort Connections by DTAMS Score (n = 28, Range 1838 Out of 40)

DTAMS Score No. of Participants CSA Categorical CSA Char/Prop CSA Curricular CSA Procedural CSA Derivational
1821
2225
2629
3033
3438
Total

4
7
5
8
4
28

15
23
20
27
12
97

8
13
9
19
2
51

0
3
7
14
12
36

7
15
17
24
5
68

3
15
4
8
5
35

Note. The largest number of connections made across types is highlighted in bold within each range of DTAMS scores.
Table 2
Themes and Exemplars for Closed Sort Pair 6 and 11 (n = 28)

Themes
Yarn explanation
Radius as a line
Both are formulas

Both are equations

Both are linear
functions

None

Exemplars of Participant Responses

Count

Frequency

If you take a piece of yarn at a certain point around the circle and brought it all
the way around, then straightened it out, it would make a straight line that you
could lay against a ruler.
If you were to graph the circle on the coordinate plane, the line [y = mx] could be
the radius of that circle.
Right off the bat, I think they are both formulas. Its kind of one of the second
nature formulas that you just know. Hopefully, your teachers help you derive it
and you know what they. I think this is another case like with the last two, I
wouldnt teach together. From a teachers perspective, they are kind of
unrelated in terms of how I would teach it.
They are both equations. I dont really know if finding the slope of a straight line
would help you find the circumference of a circle, but they are both equations.
I think they can be related because they are both functions, really. Well, the x, I
would just think of it relating C, the circumference, can be a function of the
radius. If you change the radius, it will change the circumference. Whenever
you change the x value, its going to change the y, the output. They are both
input/output. They are both lines.
I dont think they are related because that [card 6] has to do with a shape
[a circle] and this [card 11] has to do with a line.

21%

25%

11%

7%

4%

32%

28

100%

Total

Note. Card 6 read The circumference of a circle is given by C = 2*pi*r where r is the radius of the circle. Card 11 read The
equation of a straight line through the origin is given by y = m*x.

However, a statistically significant positive moderate correlation (Visual Statistics Studio, 2008) was found
between curricular connection and DTAMS scores (r =
.520, p < .05, n = 28), suggesting more curricular connections would yield higher DTAMS scores. One of the fundamental components of the MKT framework is
pedagogical content knowledge, which is comprised of (a)
knowledge of content and students, (b) knowledge of
content and teaching, and (c) knowledge of the curriculum. Participants who made more curricular connections
tended to sort the cards from the perspective of a middle
school teacher. These participants tended to sort the cards
by applying their knowledge of mathematics and teaching,
knowledge of mathematics and middle grades students,
and knowledge of middle grades mathematics curriculum.
Thus, it seems reasonable that participants who made
128

more curricular connections during the open card sort

would have higher DTAMS scores.
Types of CSA Closed Sort Connections
In the CSA closed sort, five particular pairs of cards
were selected: cards 6 and 11; cards 2 and 4; cards 15 and
17; cards 4 and 15; cards 9 and 16. Participant responses
were qualitatively analyzed using an inductive approach to
the method of constant comparison (Denzin & Lincoln,
2000) for each closed sort pairing. The themes and exemplars for each closed sort pairing are provided in
Tables 26.
Relationship of MKT Geometry and Types of CSA
Closed Sort Connections
To further investigate the relationship between MKT
and mathematical connections, bivariate analysis using
Pearson correlations was calculated between each CSA
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Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

Table 3
Themes and Exemplars for Closed Sort Pair 2 and 4 (n = 28)

Themes
Max area most
square like
Calculus problem

Derivative to
find max
Graphing
possibilities
None

Exemplars of Participant Responses

Count

Frequency

Im trying to find the max possible area of the rectangle. I think it relates because
the max possible area of rectangle is going to be given by length times width
which is 7 times 7 so you could say 7 squared, so there is some kind of
connection to x squared.
Here I think about, there is some calculus interwoven in this, when trying to find
the maximum area with a given perimeter. When you do the arithmetic, the
math is going to create a parabola and that maximum value. . . . I would need to
flush this one out, but they are related.
I think these are related. I think you have to take the derivative to find the
maximum. We did problems like this last semester where sometimes it was
undefined and sometimes a maximum. I need my notes for this one.
To find the maximum area of a rectangle, you can graph it, which is usually going
to be a parabola, and this is the equation that gives you a parabola. You could
graph every possibility and the graph would look like this [participant uses
hands to indicate a downward opening parabola], which is a parabola.
I dont see how finding the max area of a rectangle has to do with a
parabola. . .nope. . .nothing.

11%

11%

4%

17%

16

57%

28

100%

Total

Note. Card 2 read A rectangle has perimeter 28 feet. Find the maximum possible area of the rectangle. Card 4 read A function
is defined by f(x) = x2. What kind of curve will it produce when graphed?
Table 4
Themes and Exemplars for Closed Sort Pair 15 and 17 (n = 28)

Theme
Both area formulas

Geometric/relational

Volume of cone
None

Exemplars of Participant Responses

Count

Frequency

Thats just going back to area because you are trying to find area in each. If you
want to find the area of a triangle, you use this formula and if you want to find
area of circle, you use this one and thats how they are related. They are
formulas for area but just different objects.
Theyre both area, just of different shapes. Im trying to figure out how much
more I can relate them than that. I guess if you have your circle and you make
it into a bunch of different pie pieces which is kind of similar to a triangle, you
could end up using this formula [card 17] to roughly get to this one [card 15].
The more triangles you put into the circle, the closer it will get to the area of a
circle.
If you go by what I said earlier about multiplying the area of a triangle times the
area of a circle, then it might be volume of a cone.
There is something there, but I cant remember what it is, I cant put my finger on
it. It is something Ive done and I dont remember when and where. Ill
remember at some point, it may be tomorrow or the next day, but Ill remember
what this is and where I did it. I feel like I should know this but I dont.

17

60%

32%

4%

4%

28

100%

Total

Note. Card 15 read The area A enclosed by a circle is given by the formula A = pr2 where r is the radius of the circle. Card 17
read The area of a triangle is given by the formula A = 1/2bh where b is the base and h is the height of the triangle.

closed sort theme and DTAMS scores. No statistically

significant correlations were found between DTAMS
scores and extracted themes from CSA closed sort pairings (6, 11), (4, 15), and (15, 17). However, there were
statistically significant correlations between DTAMS
scores and extracted themes from CSA closed sort pairings (2, 4), and (9, 16). There was a statistically significant
positive moderate correlation (Visual Statistics Studio,
School Science and Mathematics

2008) between the extracted theme graphing possibilities for the closed sort pair (2, 4) and DTAMS score (r =
.510, p < .05, n = 28). The graphing possibilities theme
represents participants attempts to relate the two cards by
thinking about how to solve the problem on card 2 for
finding the maximum possible area of a rectangle with a
fixed perimeter. Participants whose responses fell within
this theme tended to be those prospective middle grades
129

Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

Table 5
Themes and Exemplars for Closed Sort Pair 4 and 15 (n = 28)

Theme
Both have squares
Both are quadratic
functions
Invalid geometric

None

Exemplars of Participant Responses

Count

Frequency

The variable in both formulas is squared. They both have squares in them.
You have two functions squared. You could substitute pi x for r. They are both
even quadratic functions.
Again, Im going to go with they are connected because area squared and this
[function] is squared. This one says what kind of curve will it produce when
graphed and we know what kind of curve a circle is going to produce. I guess
half of it is going to be a parabola.
The function is going upward like a U shape. If it continued or if you flip it, rotate
it, then you could find the area of a circle.
This gives you like a parabola which is kind of like a half circle. . .And maybe if
that was like a half circle and the parabola was laying on the x-axis and you
want to know the area of that specific function or half circle, then you would
need to know how to find the area of a full circle in order to find the area of x
squared laying on the x-axis.
Im not sure I can think of a relationship between 4 and 15. This [card 4] could be
the area of a wedge of a circle, but that is pretty obscure.

10
2

35%
7%

29%

29%

28

100%

Total

Note. Card 4 read A function is defined by f(x) = x2. What kind of curve will it produce when graphed? Card 15 read The area
A enclosed by a circle is given by the formula A = pr2 where r is the radius of the circle.
Table 6
Themes and Exemplars for Closed Sort Pair 9 and 16 (n = 28)

Theme
Given triangle
Create triangle

DF looks like PT

PT is DF

None
Total

Exemplars of Participant Responses

Count

Frequency

These are connected because if you have a right triangle on the coordinate plane,
you can figure out, easily figure out, the base and the height and then you could
use the Pythagorean theorem to figure out the hypotenuse.
Like, Im picturing if I want to find this line and I wanted to find the distance
between these two points, I could make a triangle out of that. I would put two
points in the plane, I was picturing a line between the two points, and then so I
was picturing to draw a triangle. Then finding the distance between these two
points would be like finding this line. If this was my triangle and this was my
right angle then using the Pythagorean theorem to find the line.
Yeah [indicating the statement on the two cards are related], because the
Pythagorean theorem is pretty much the distance formula. Because a squared
plus b squared equals c squared and square root all that to find c by itself which
is the distance equal to the square root of a squared plus b squared. The as
could be the xs, the bs could be the ys and so square root of a squared plus b
squared is square root of (x2 minus x1) squared plus (y2 minus y1) squared
which equals the distance which equals c.
The Pythagorean theorem is the distance formula in the coordinate plane. Here, I
thought about the Pythagorean theorem, actually. . .because I have never been
able to remember the distance formula and Ive learned in two classes this year
that you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance between two
points instead of having to memorize the distance formula, which I found to be
really helpful.
Im not sure if they are related. I cant remember right now.

15

54%

17%

11%

4%

1
28

4%
100%

DF = Distance Formula; T = Pythagorean Theorem.

teachers who exhibited such problem-solving attributes as

persistence, reflection, and sense making during a previous problem-solving task in which they were closely
observed.
130

There was a statistically significant negative moderate

correlation (Visual Statistics Studio, 2008) between the
extracted theme none for the closed sort pair (2, 4)
and DTAMS score (r = -.499, p < .05, n = 28). These
Volume 113 (3)

Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

participants who believed there was no connection or relation between card 2 and 4 tended to have lower DTAMS
scores. A large number of participants whose responses
fell within the none theme had difficulties making the
algebraic/geometric connections during a previous
problem-solving task in which they were closely observed.
There was a statistically significant negative moderate
correlation between the extracted theme given triangle
for the closed sort pair (9, 16) and DTAMS score (r =
-.510, p < .05, n = 28). All but one participant indicated
that the two cards were connected, which is not surprising
given the Pythagorean theorem is arguably the most
popular and remembered mathematical statement from
high school geometry. The Pythagorean theorem is often
remembered as a squared plus b squared equals c
squared, and when prompted, participants usually
recalled a, b, and c represent the lengths of the legs and
hypotenuse, respectively, of a right triangle. More than
half the participants responses for relating the two cards
fell under the given triangle theme. Given a right triangle in the Cartesian coordinate plane, the Pythagorean
theorem could be applied to find the distance between the
two end points of the hypotenuse. The previous description
is a typical problem that prospective middle grades teachers have encountered on several occasions in middle
school, high school, and postsecondary education. The
participants given triangle explanation is dependent
upon the recollection of a procedure they have carried out
on numerous occasions. Arguably, participants given triangle explanation was heavily reliant upon procedural
rather than conceptual understanding of the relationship
between the Pythagorean theorem and the distance
between any two points in the Cartesian coordinate plane.
Well-developed MKT geometry requires both procedural
and conceptual understanding of why and how particular
mathematical ideas are related and/or connected to other
mathematical ideas. The heavy focus of Common Content
Knowledge and Specialized Content Knowledge items on
the DTAMS instrument coupled with the lack of conceptual understanding of the mathematical ideas presented on
cards 9 and 16 may explain why these participants tended
to have lower DTAMS scores.
Conclusions and Implications
This concurrent exploratory mixed methods study
described the types of connections prospective middle
grades teachers make when engaged in card sort tasks
meant to probe mathematical connections and its relationship to MKT geometry. The statistically significant CSA
curricular connections and MKT geometry are particularly
School Science and Mathematics

encouraging. Both mathematicians and mathematics educators at the study site currently use and draw upon
National Science Foundation reform curriculum emphasizing a constructivist approach to learning and teaching
mathematics in prospective middle grades teacher content
and methods courses. The development, improvement, and
refinement of these prospective teacher courses include a
focus on how to make visible the connections to the kinds
of mathematical thinking, judgment, and reasoning one
has to do in teaching (Ball et al., 2009; Ball, Thames, &
Phelps, 2008). The university and teacher education unit
encourage this kind of collaboration and teaching; there is
no faculty incentive beyond his/her philosophies of teaching and desire to develop and teach a course in this
manner. Still, the below-average scores for MKT geometry, as measured by the DTAMS assessment (mean 27.79
out of a possible score of 40, SD = 5.971, range = 1838),
support the findings of the MT21, and the Teacher Education Study in Mathematics report that future U.S. middle
school teachers prepared through a middle grades program
need stronger mathematical and pedagogical preparation
(Center for Research in Math and Science Education,
2010; Schmidt et al., 2007).
Implications for Content Courses
Before coming to college, most prospective middle
grades teachers have taken an Algebra I, Geometry, and an
Algebra II course. Algebra and geometry are typically
viewed by prospective middle grades teachers as distinct
fields, this will only perpetuate the difficulties prospective
middle grades teacher have in making mathematical connections between strands. Prospective middle grades
teachers connection making may be strengthened by creating a two-semester course sequence focused on the interrelationships between algebra and geometry. In this study,
the fundamental misconnections or lack of connections
made by participants suggest that a two-semester sequence
specifically designed for prospective middle grades teachers should be developed through the MKT framework with
particular focus on (a) making visible and explicit the
connections between algebraic and geometric concepts,
(b) providing prospective middle grades teachers the
opportunity to discuss and reflect upon how a particular
mathematics topic is developed across the span of the
curriculum, and (c) creating tasks centered around analyzing student work with a critical eye on both how the
student is making mathematical connections and the
types of connections they are making.
Curricular connection making could be improved
in such integrated courses by infusing more pedagogy
within these content courses. Through pedagogy within
131

Mathematical Connections and MKT Geometry

integrated courses, mathematicians and mathematics educators will help prospective teachers make more explicit
connections to the kinds of mathematical thinking, judgment, and reasoning one has to do in carrying out the work
of teaching mathematics in a K-12 setting (Ball et al.,
2008, 2009).
Implications for Methods Courses
In methods courses, prospective middle grades teachers
tend to focus on curriculum, lesson planning, instructional
strategies, and assessment. However, prospective middle
mathematics teachers are rarely afforded the opportunity
in their methods courses to reflect upon the role mathematical connections play in curriculum development,
lesson planning, instructional strategies, and assessments
with the goal of improving their MKT. The CSA activities
in this study could serve as a model for getting prospective
middle grades teachers to think about various forms of
summative and formative assessment that could be implemented during K-12 classroom instruction and lesson
planning. By developing lesson plans that include a focus
on mathematical connections as an explicit objective and
thinking about how to assess such connection making,
prospective middle grades teachers will begin to
strengthen both their mathematical and pedagogical connection making as well as MKT. The CSA could also serve
as a starting point for helping prospective middle grades
teachers think about how to sequence their instruction,
reflect upon the goals of instruction, reflect upon and state
the connections expected to be made by their students, and
develop appropriate assessments that help to measure the
objectives set forth in their lesson plans.
Implications for Researchers
Although there are a few studies that have examined the
mathematical connections of prospective teachers at the
elementary and secondary level (Bartels, 1995; Donigan,
1999; Evitts, 2005; Hau, 1993; Roddy, 1992; Wood, 1993),
there is little to no research on the mathematical connections made by prospective middle grades teachers at the
middle grades level. The findings of this study resulted in
the development of several mathematical connection types
through the context of card sorting. The mathematical
connection categories that emerged from this study should
be used as a starting point for evaluating the types of
connections practicing teachers are or are not making
during instruction. The mathematical connection categories developed in this study should be adapted and refined
for use in other contexts. By understanding the types of
mathematical connections in-service teachers make during
instruction, mathematicians and mathematics educators
will be better informed on the types of mathematical con132

nections that need to be focused on during prospective

teacher preparation for strengthen and developing MKT.
Future Research
Prospective middle grades teachers must learn to access
and unpack their mathematical knowledge in a connected,
effective manner. Future studies should include research
on the development of mathematical tasks for explicit
connection making in order to make visible the connections to the kinds of mathematical thinking and judgment
one has to do in teaching, especially when teaching middle
school adolescents. How can we prepare prospective
middle grades teachers to unpack and decompose mathematical ideas in a connected explicit manner? Future
studies should include research of effective ways for constructing mathematics tasks that help prospective middle
grades teachers learn to create questions and questioning
techniques that will strengthen their mathematics knowledge for teaching.
Future research studies should include the careful construction of assessments that not only explicitly address
the relationship between mathematical concepts and
topics, but value the making and learning of connections.
A longitudinal study following a cohort of prospective
middle grades teachers through their undergraduate
studies on into their first and second year of teaching
could potentially reveal how mathematical connections
and MKT are developed over time. Future studies should
involve the development and implementation of an integrated mathematics content course sequence for prospective middle grades teachers. What would be the effects of
an integrated mathematics content course sequence on
prospective middle grades teachers mathematical connection making and MKT? What effects would this, in
turn, have on their middle school classrooms? The
current research study is only an exploratory preliminary
study that highlights the mathematical connections prospective middle grades teachers make and its relationship
to mathematical knowledge for teaching geometry. This
study serves as a foundation for future studies examining
the relationship between the mathematics knowledge
needed for teaching and the mathematical connections
prospective teachers make within other domains and
contexts.
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Authors Notes
Research supported, in part, by National Science Foundation MSP grant EHR-0227028, the Appalachian Mathematics Science Partnership.
Jennifer Eli is an assistant professor of mathematics
education in the Department of Mathematics at The University of Arizona. She can be reached at jeli@
math.arizona.edu.
Margaret Mohr-Schroeder is an associate professor of
mathematics education at the University of Kentucky
where she is chair of the Secondary Mathematics Program.
She can be reached at [email protected].
Carl Lee is a professor of mathematics at the University
of Kentucky. He can be reached at [email protected].
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