Pre-service middle school mathematics teachers' proportional reasoning before and after a practice-based instructional module


Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Matematik ve Fen Bilimleri Eğitimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2016

Öğrenci: MUTLU PİŞKİN TUNÇ

Danışman: ERDİNÇ ÇAKIROĞLU

Özet:

The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service middle school mathematics teachers’ proportional reasoning before and after receiving a practice-based instructional module based on proportional reasoning. Data were collected from three pre-service teachers in the spring semester of 2012-2013. Pre-service teachers were junior students enrolled in elementary mathematics teaching program at a public university. A practice-based instructional module based on proportional reasoning was carried out during a five-week period. In this study, the researcher was also the teacher of the instruction at the same time. The Proportional Reasoning Test, semi-structured interviews and observations of student teachings were used to collect data about the participants’ proportional reasoning. The current study indicated that pre-service teachers improved their proportional reasoning by completing a practice-based instructional module. Before the instructional module, the pre-service teachers generally applied algebraic procedures without associating meaning and used limited number of strategies to solve problems. Furthermore, the result demonstrated that they had difficulties in distinguishing proportional from nonproportional situations and understanding mathematical relationships embedded in proportional situations. However, by the end of the instructional module, while they mostly preferred to use informal strategies, they relied less on formal strategies. Additionally, they utilized a broader range of strategies to solve problems and made sense of these strategies. Further, they could determine whether the quantities in a situation were related additively, multiplicatively, or in some other way. Moreover, they enhanced their understanding of the mathematical relationships embedded in proportional situations as a result of their participation in the instructional module.