Cognitive Level of Preservice Mathematics Teachers towards the Pseudo-Understanding Phenomenon

Abstract

The phenomenon of students "pseudo-understanding" has attracted widespread attention, and many scholars have conducted research in this area. However, there is no research on the cognitive level of preservice mathematics teachers towards the "pseudo-understanding phenomenon." This study employed the method of questionnaire surveys to investigate the cognitive understanding of 31 preservice mathematics teachers (including both master’s students in education and undergraduate mathematics majors) at a university. Data analysis reveals that most participants attribute the phenomenon to students’ superficial understanding, failure to apply knowledge, and lack of practice. To address this, they suggest increasing practice, summarizing problem-solving methods, and encouraging more frequent review. This indicates that the current preservice mathematics teachers have a relatively limited understanding of the causes and solutions to the "pseudo-understanding phenomenon," only recognizing some of the reasons and solutions from the students' perspective, with an incomplete understanding, and neglecting the impact of teachers on students, showing a cognitive bias. The findings underscore the need for improved training in university and graduate courses to equip future educators with effective teaching strategies.