Assessing perceptions of pre-service teachers’ teacher knowledge through portfolios

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge through portfolio assessments. In the spring semester of 2010, 28 students at the newly founded university on the Eastern part of Turkey participated in this study. The participants were asked to prepare portfolio as part of course requirement reflecting on their knowledge development in the past three years. The analysis includes how pre-service teachers grow their content and pedagogical knowledge by the end of their third year. Most of the pre-service teachers in this study believed that they had adequate content and pedagogical knowledge to teach using the philosophy of new school mathematics program. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.