Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 36 Issue 2, June 1999
28 – 33
Middle School Students’ Reasoning About Geometric Situations
William M. Carroll
Along with increased emphasis on reasoning, communication and problem solving, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1989, 1991, 1995) has called for a change in assessment techniques. In contrast to short-answer questions, assessments that elicit writing, diagrams and other representations offer better windows into students’ understandings and misconceptions about mathematics. This article describes some short geometry tasks that go beyond the simple recognition of figures and properties.
