Conocimientos de docentes de primaria en formación respecto a perímetro y área de polígonos

The objective of the investigation is to analyze the knowledge which elementary teacher trainees bring to bear when solving problems of perimeter and area of polygons. For this purpose, we chose twelve mathematical tasks: two involving factual knowledge of perimeter and area, four related to comprehension of those concepts, and six focused on exploring the use of routine procedures. With the instrument, we designed a code with which to classify and analyze participants' written answers. Thirty-nine (39) Mexican undergraduate students in the elementary education program at a teacher training school participated in this qualitative study. On analyzing their answers, we identified difficulties in providing formal definitions of the concepts of perimeter and area, and the subjects appear to have greater familiarity with the use of routine procedures than comprehension of concepts.