Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the non-routine problem solving performances of mathematics teacher candidates. A descriptive survey model was used for this work and it was conducted with 50 teacher candidates studying elementary mathematics teaching in a medium-sized university in Turkey. To determine the non-routine problem solving performance of the teacher candidates, open ended non-routine problems were prepared according to an expert’s opinion. Firstly, the data obtained were examined with a holistic rubric to know the problem solving levels of the teacher candidates and secondly the levels of the teacher candidates for each problem solving step of Polya were evaluated with a two point scale. When the problem solving performances of the teacher candidates were examined in a holistic manner, it was concluded that their performance is low when the difficult level of problem is raised. From the results, it was determined that teacher candidates mostly tended to go through a solution by trying to use arithmetic operations to solve non-routine problems. As a result, it was suggested to examine teacher candidates’ problem solving knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and to re-evaluate the results of the research with different question types. Key words: Non-routine problem, Mathematics teacher candidates, Mathematics education.
Highlights
Solving mathematical problem has been one of the key points in research in mathematics education for several decades
When the non-routine problem solving performances of the teacher candidates were examined in a holistic way, it can be said that they perform low especially as the difficulty level of the problem was raised
The teacher candidates who preferred the strategy of using equation could not solve the problem; candidates who used the strategy of working backwards are successful in finding the answer to the problem
Summary
Solving mathematical problem has been one of the key points in research in mathematics education for several decades. It is an advanced thinking ability and consists of different thinking processes (Codina et al, 2015). Problem solving is a powerful and effective tool for learning, which is mentioned in the publication of NCTM (2000) standards. When the principles and standards are examined, problem solving is seen as a goal of learning mathematics and as a basic tool of teaching mathematics. Problem solving is an essential part of learning mathematics and should not be considered separately from mathematics programs.
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