Preservice mathematics teachers’ ways of using problem solving strategies while solving mathematical word problems
Journal Title: Journal of Human Sciences - Year 2015, Vol 12, Issue 2
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the variety of problem solving strategies used by preservice mathematics teachers while solving different mathematical word problems which require representation standards and to identify which strategy is functional for pre-service teachers to apply with middle-school students.The study was a case study and conducted during the 2009 spring semester. For this study, 150 senior class pre-service teachers of elementary mathematics education were chosen from a public university in Turkey by convenient sampling. Data were collected through an open-ended test developed by researchers. The test was consist of ten mathematical word problems selected from the five sub-learning areas. The test was given to the pre-service teachers and they were asked to solve each problem in different ways. It took 60 minutes for preservice teachers to complete the test. Strategies that pre-service teachers used for solving word problems were categorized by using content analyze. Also interviews were conducted with pre-service teachers in order to identify their opinions about the usability of strategies in middle-school classrooms.Findings revealed that participants are lack of using different strategies while solving word problems. In general the participants did not apply more than one strategy and they used traditional solving strategies instead of extreme ones. Findings of this study will be a guiding spirit to teacher educators for the enhancement of preservice teacher education programs.
Authors and Affiliations
Neslihan Bulut, Gözdegül Karamık
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP643699
- DOI -
- Views 100
- Downloads 0
A comparative look at the teacher training systems: Belgium - Flemish Community and Turkey
This study aims to have a comparative look at the two countries, Belgium - Flemish Community and Turkey with regard to teacher training systems and qualitatively investigate the differences between these countries. The c...
How to run a sports camp – legally speaking
Camps are a great way to keep kids active throughout the summer and to make money for the program sponsoring them. Planning is needed for a sports camp to be safe for both the camp personnel and the athletes, and to mini...
Investigation of decision-making levels of science teacher candidates by using decision matrix in multiple cases
Decision matrix is one of the tools that can be used to make scientific decisions upon possessing multiple options at hand. The aim of this study is to examine prospective science teachers’ decision-making levels by usin...
Self-compassion as a predictor of social physique anxiety in athletes
The purpose of this study is to examine the explanatory effect of self-compassion on social physique anxiety in athletes. The study was conducted with the participation of a total of 462 athletes, 145 female and 317 male...
Expected functions of an effective child justice system administration? A framework developed through a qualitative study in Turkey
Research problem / aim: Turkey initiated its first specialized child court in 1987, but the most visible improvements towards establishing child-specific judicial procedures were only achieved in 2005, when the Child Pro...