Widjaja, W: Local instruction theory on decimals

This book reports on an empirical study in developing an instructional sequence on decimals to promote Indonesian pre-service teachers‘‘ content and pedagogical content knowledge on decimals. The study was situated in the context of current reform effort in adopting Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) theory and looked into the role and issues of incorporating RME tenets into the of activities for teacher education in Indonesia. The study was carried out in two cycles of teaching experiments involving 258 pre-service teachers in one teacher training in Indonesia using research methodology. Findings from the two cycles signified the importance of revisiting and improving pre-service teachers‘‘ content and pedagogical content knowledge of decimals. Pre- service teachers‘‘ knowledge on decimals in this study were characterised as fragmented, with strong reliance on rules without understanding, and strong association with fractions. The nature of pre- service teachers‘‘ knowledge of decimals highlighted a challenge in attending the guided reinvention tenet of RME.