METAPHORİC PERCEPTİONS OF PRİMARY PRE-SERVİCE TEACHERS TOWARDS MATHEMATİCS, MATHEMATİCS TEACHİNG PROCESS AND MATHEMATİCS TEACHİNG

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the metaphors of primary pre-service teachers regarding mathematics lessons, mathematics teaching and mathematics teaching process. In line with the purpose of the research, phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in this study. 80 pre-service teachers in two public universities in the Central Anatolia region, who studied in the department of primary education in the 2019-2020 academic year, participated. In the analysis of the research data, the responses of the primary pre-service teachers to the metaphoric perception form and the pictures they created were analyzed with the content analysis technique. Pre-service teacher candidates were found to produce positive and negative metaphors about mathematics, mathematics teaching and mathematics teaching progress and they had positive and negative perceptions about them. Particularly, the participants stated that mathematics and mathematics teaching are  difficult courses, however  mathematics is an indispensable part of life and that it is always needed. In addition, pre-service teachers' perceptions of mathematics are shaped especially by their negative experiences in their previous experiences. Also participants stated that mathematics is an indispensable part of people life and mathematics is always needed in their daily lives. The arrangement of the primary school curriculum of undergraduate programs and the courses in the curriculum in a way to reduce the anxiety of teacher candidates towards mathematics lesson and mathematics teaching and to provide a positive experience related to mathematics will help reduce the mathematical anxiety observed in the society and increase mathematical achievement.