Non-thesis master′s level pre-service mathematics teachers' conceptions of proof

this case study research was carried out with eight pre-service teachers enrolled in a non-thesis masters degree program at the university where the author works after having earned undergraduate degrees in mathematics from different universities in turkey. the study is part of a large-scale study. the main part of the study aimed to identify the conceptions of participants about proof and proving in a period of ten weeks. the present study contains the preliminary findings regarding the participants' opinions about the meaning of proof and proving and the purposes of proof. three groups of data were used in this article. the first group involves the essay writing of pre-service teachers; the second group involves whole group discussions; and the last group contains individual semi-structured interviews. the results demonstrate that the pre-service teachers often prefer using formal discourse to define proof but have certain difficulties in making sense of these definitions. the general opinion of the participants about the purposes of proof concentrates on verification and explanation. another problem examined in the study was concerned with whether the pre-service teachers' opinions about the meaning and purposes of proof can change. the results showed that their opinions may change regarding both. however, the changes involved expansion of their previous opinions by adding new dimensions, without moving in another direction.