Abstract:

In this study we aimed to examine prospective elementary mathematics teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching. More specifically, our aim was to understand whether the Teaching Method Course had an effect on prospective mathematics teachers’ mathematical knowledge. The study was conducted with 31 prospective elementary mathematics teachers in a large public university in Ankara, Turkey in 2010-2011 fall semester. To collect data, a survey instrument including 5 open-ended questions was developed by the researchers and employed as both pre and post test. The survey included questions related to geometry, decimal multiplication, and fraction concepts. In addition to the survey, selected 5 prospective teachers were interviewed face-to-face at the end of the semester to follow their thinking process more in-depth. The data collected will be analyzed, and the findings will be shared in order to shed light on prospective teachers’ knowledge for teaching mathematics, and how the Teaching Methods Course had an effect on teachers’ knowledge. The implications of the findings will also be discussed.

Keywords:

Knowledge for teaching, Prospective mathematics teachers, Teaching Methods Course.