Themes within lecturers' views on the teaching of linear algebra

This is the Author’s Original Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology on 25 September, 2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1668976.This paper reports on themes that arose in an investigation of university lecturers’ views on the teaching of linear algebra. This focus on themes was the initial part of a study concentrating on four areas: What is important to teach in a first course in linear algebra? Are there teaching methods which are particularly suited for such a course? Are there tools that should/should not be used; and do the answers to these questions vary according to the degree (Engineering or Mathematics) the students follow? Questionnaire data was coded using thematic analysis which generated 11 themes related to the four questions above. The Results section presents the themes. The Discussion section considers the themes as a whole; splits – dualities – in teaching linear algebra; students’ challenges with abstraction; aspects of doing mathematics; and pedagogical issues