Pre-service Teachers' Preferred Strategies for Solving Arithmetic and Algebra Word Problems

In this study we investigate the arithmetic andalgebra word problem-solving skills andstrategies of future primary and secondaryschool teachers in Flanders (Belgium).Moreover, we describe the evolution of theseskills and strategies from the beginning to theend of their teacher education. The resultsshow that future secondary school mathematicsteachers preferred the use of algebra, evenwhen an arithmetic solution was morestraightforward. The solutions of futureprimary school teachers were more diverse: onesubgroup tended to apply exclusively arithmeticmethods (which led to failures on the mostdifficult word problems), whereas anothersubgroup was more adaptive in its strategychoices. Finally, student teachers evolved intheir problem-solving skills during theirteacher education, but not in their strategypreferences. The research findings indicatethat, in the education of pre-service primaryand secondary school teachers, there is a needfor an explicit treatment of pupils' transitionfrom arithmetical to algebraic thinking.