Reflections from learning activities designed by prospective teachers and supported by mathematical process skills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29329/pedper.2025.122Keywords:
Constructivist learning, pedagogical analysis, connections, communication, reasoningAbstract
This study aims to examine the processes by which prospective teachers design mathematical activities based on mathematical process skills (connections, communication, and reasoning) and in line with the constructivist learning approach. The study was conducted within the scope of the course titled “Connections in Mathematics Teaching,” offered in the primary mathematics teacher education program at a public university. A case study design, a qualitative research method, was adopted. The study group consisted of 55 prospective mathematics teachers enrolled in the aforementioned course. Data were collected through activity reports prepared by the participants, observation notes recorded by the researcher during the activity presentations, and group interviews conducted at the end of the process. The collected data were analysed through content analysis within the framework of pedagogical and skill-based dimensions. The findings indicate that the prospective teachers were mainly able to integrate mathematical process skills into their activities and had reached a satisfactory level, particularly in the areas of making connections and mathematical communication. However, significant deficiencies were observed in their ability to identify and utilize indicators related to ‘estimation-based reasoning.' From a pedagogical perspective, it was found that the participants demonstrated limited performance in the exploration and explanation phases, which constitute key components of constructivist teaching. In light of these results, it is recommended that teacher education programs incorporate a greater number of constructivist, practice-oriented, and reflective activities to support the pedagogical development of prospective teachers.
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