How Prepared are China's Preservice Mathematics Teachers? An Insight into their Cognition of Space Concept Literacy

Abstract

At present, the research on space concept literacy in junior high school is a hot topic in the field of education in China. Many scholars have conducted research from different directions, but there is still a gap in the current research on preservice mathematics teachers' cognitive degree of space concept literacy. Therefore, this study used a semi-structured interview method to investigate 10 undergraduates and 10 graduates in a normal university in China to obtain their understanding of the contents related to space concept literacy. The results show that: 1. The cognitive breadth of space concept literacy is high, and most preservice mathematics teachers can cognize all the contents. 2. The cognitive clarity is relatively high. Most preservice teachers have a clear understanding of the cognitive contents, but the cognition of the value is relatively vague. 3. The cognitive accuracy is not high, and only a few preservice teachers can accurately master all the contents, among which the connotation is better, while the cultivation goals and value are worse. 4. The common implementation focus is the following three aspects: preparation of space concept literacy, cultivation of space concept literacy, and intensification of space concept literacy. 5. The cognition of the implementation focus is rational. However, preservice teachers have little understanding of content structuring and overall unit instructional design as suggested by the Standards, and lack the ability to capture emerging technologies such as AR technology.