Characterization of Inductive Reasoning in Middle School Mathematics Teachers in a Generalization Task

This paper reports on the characterization of the inductive reasoning used by middle school mathematics teachers to solve a task of generalization of a quadratic pattern. The data was collected from individual interviews and the written answers to the generalization task. The analysis was based on the representations and justifications used to move from particular cases to the formulation of the general rule. Three processes characterize the inductive reasoning of the mathematics teachers to obtain a general rule: observation of regularities, establishment of a pattern and formulation of a generalization; while some teachers revealed problems in moving from the observation of regularities to the formulation of a generalization. Therefore, some difficulties in generalizing associated with these processes are also mentioned.