Improving Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Capability With Generic Example Proofs

Preservice mathematics teachers are entrusted with developing their future students’ interest in and ability to do mathematics effectively. Various policy documents place importance on being able to reason about and prove mathematical claims. However, it is not enough for these preservice teachers, and their future students, to have a narrow focus on only one type of proof (demonstration proof), as opposed to other forms of proof, such as generic example proofs, pictorial proofs, and so on. This article examines the effectiveness of a course on reasoning-and-proving on preservice teachers’ awareness of and abilities to recognize and construct generic example proofs. The findings support assertions that such a course can and does change preservice teachers’ capability with generic example proofs.