Pre-service teachers’ experiences with a university and elementary school robotics club

Introduction: Although there is ambiguity about the elements of teacher knowledge, all researchers accept that being able to anticipate what errors can be made, the reasons for and the strategies to overcome these errors, in short, the knowledge of students is important for student achievement. In this study, knowledge of students refers to being aware of students’ possible errors and underlying reasons for these errors and knowing how to overcome these errors. Based on this consideration, the purpose of this study is to investigate pre-service elementary teachers’ knowledge of students on the subtraction topic. Methods: Considering the purpose, the data were collected from 118 pre-service elementary teachers who were enrolled in a four-year Elementary Teacher Education program via a task-based questionnaire related to the topic of subtraction and semi-structured interviews following the questionnaire. The task-based questionnaire included three completed incorrect subtraction tasks and was prepared considering the related literature and the elementary school mathematics curriculum of Turkey. Each task in the questionnaire contained a different type of error. The pre-service elementary teachers’ answers to the task-based questionnaire were categorized as correct, partially correct, wrong, or no answer by means of categorical analysis. The pre-service elementary teachers who gave correct and partially correct answers to the tasks were asked to participate in the second part of the study to learn their possible strategies to overcome the errors made in the tasks. Results: As a result of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the pre-service elementary teachers’ responses, it was found that their knowledge of students for subtraction is limited. Specifically, although the pre-service elementary teachers were partially able to identify the errors in the first and second task, they were not able to identify the error in the third task. Furthermore, they were better able to determine a more commonly occurring subtraction error compared to the uncommon ones. The pre-service elementary teachers could not identify the underlying reasons that led the students to the errors. They could not explain what conceptual knowledge related to the topic of subtraction the student lacked that resulted in the errors. As the pre-service teachers did not attain these reasons, they were not able to provide strategies to overcome these errors different than restating the rules or procedures to overcome students’ errors. Discussion: Only being able to identify the errors is not enough to make the instruction effective. Teachers also need to know and provide a rationale for why the errors happen and how to overcome them (Even & Tirosh, 1995). Contrary to this statement, the pre-service elementary teachers in this study could not attempt to understand the students’ thinking or could not explain the reasons behind students’ errors with the notion of subtraction. Son (2013) emphasizes that pre-service teachers tend to explain the reasons for students’ errors as procedural. Similar to this emphasis, the pre-service teachers identified the errors as resulting from not applying procedures carefully or not enough knowing algorithms to find correct solutions. However, without addressing the reasons or focusing on procedures does not promote students’ understanding of the related topic (An, Kulm, & Wu, 2004). The pre-service teachers’ difficulties in identifying the possible conceptual reasons may result from deficits in knowledge of students (Fennema & Franke, 1992; Ball et al., 2008). Limitations: The findings were limited with the responses of the pre-service elementary teachers participating in this study. Moreover, the pre-service elementary teachers’ knowledge of students was investigated within the scope of subtraction. Conclusions: Although the pre-service elementary teachers could identify students’ errors on subtraction, they had difficulty in identifying the reasons and suggesting strategies to overcome the errors. Therefore, it can be concluded that the pre-service teachers’ knowledge of students for the topic of subtraction is limited. An implication of this is that teacher educators need to include error-analysis tasks to help pre-service teachers be aware of the importance of their knowledge of students.

The research investigates and compares pedagogical content knowledge of pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers in mathematics. The study used a quantitative method design, and the participants were 96 pre-service teachers and 80 in-service elementary school teachers. The data collected by questionnaires using 5-point Likers scala consists of content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. The data is analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and MANOVA. The results showed that pre-service and in-service teachers showed higher levels of pedagogical content knowledge. Teachers in services scored higher in pedagogical content knowledge than pre-service teachers significantly. In-service teachers have higher scores in each of the components. Pre-service teachers have higher scores in pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge except for content knowledge. Teacher educators need to pay attention to increased pre-service content knowledge and activating pre￾service teachers in elementary school as co-teacher. In-service teachers can improve their skills through educational seminars and webinars online that do not interfere with teaching time.

The purpose of this study is to explore what mathematics perceptions are held by pre-service teachers. Sixty-eight pre-service elementary school teachers enrolled in a mathematics content course for elementary school teachers completed Mathematics Perceptions Survey (MPS) to measure their mathematics perceptions. All items were presented in the form of a 7-point rating scale. The questionnaire contained questions related to pre-service teachers’ perceptions of what mathematics is and how to do well in it, what mathematics solutions should be, how mathematics problems can be solved, how mathematics should be taught, and how mathematics is learned, mathematics genius to do mathematics, the nature of school mathematics, and student motivation. Findings indicated that the beliefs pre-service elementary school teachers reflected in the instrument items were in line with the current reform movements in mathematics education. The pre-service elementary school teachers generally indicated positive beliefs to the questionnaire items about mathematics. For instance, they gave importance to appreciate developing different ways of solutions to the same problem, why a solution to a mathematics problem works, think in mathematics can be creative and discover things by themselves, and apply mathematics knowledge and skills to real life. However, the results revealed that the pre-service elementary school teachers held several moderate and negative beliefs. The data indicate that pre-service elementary school teachers’ definition of mathematics reflects more of a subject that is all about symbols, numbers, equations, formulas, and procedures that are to be memorized. The results also indicated that pre-service elementary school teachers do not agree that the subject matter is interesting, and that learning the discipline will help them think clearly. Motivation is among the most powerful determinants of students’ success or failure in school. These results suggest that mathematics educators need to develop pre-service teachers’ motivation towards mathematics; help pre-service teachers understand and value the need for perseverance in solving mathematics problems; and help students realize the connections between the mathematics they learn in school and the mathematics-related fields that might interest them.

Teachers' Sense of Efficacy: An Important Factor in School Improvement

The present study aims to explore how non-English-major pre-service elementary school teachers perceive their efficacy and English teaching competence. 104 pre-service elementary school teachers including 77 non-English majors (21 science majors, 28 Korean majors, and 28 math majors) and 27 English majors participated in the study that included two surveys: English Teacher Efficacy Scale (ETES) and Perceived English Teaching Competence Scale (PETCS). To explore non-English-major pre-service teachers’ English teacher efficacy (ETE) and their perceived English teaching competence (PETC), their responses were compared with English-major pre-service teachers’. The findings were as follows: First, pre-service teachers’ ETE consisted of four factors while PETC consisted of two factors. Second, there was no significant difference in ETE between the non-English-major pre-service teachers and English-major pre-service teachers. Third, non-English majors had a significantly lower PETC than English majors. Fourth, pre-service teachers’ ETE and PETC were affected by interactions among gender, English-speaking ability, and major. The findings suggested that variables such as gender and English-speaking ability should be considered in exploring ETE and PETC. In addition, related variables should be considered in non-English-major pre-service teachers’ professional development programs.

Background Although preservice teachers bring well-established views of teaching to their teacher education programs, Tabachnick and Zeichner (1984) claimed that it is possible to amend preservice teachers’ views. They portrayed the learning of teachers as a negotiated and interactive process rather than as one that is predetermined by teachers’ prior experiences. Feiman-Nemser (2001) suggested that having preservice teachers examine their beliefs in light of images of good teaching should be one of the central tasks of preservice teacher education. Purpose The study reported in this manuscript was conducted in an effort to document and examine the interplay between novice teachers’ personal theories, their mathematics education coursework, and their field experiences. Research Design Using all four methods of data collection attributed to ethnographic research (Eisenhart, 1988)—artifact collection, participant observation, ethnographic interviewing, and researcher introspection—this interpretivist study (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) attempted to document and examine the learning of seven preservice elementary teachers as reflected in their mathematics methods coursework and subsequent field experiences. Findings This manuscript describes three tasks from the mathematics methods course—critiquing an essay written by a teacher as she reflected on her teaching practice; working one-on-one with a child in mathematics for an extended period of time; and observing an experienced teacher teach an elementary mathematics lesson—that provided preservice elementary school teachers with opportunities to learn and grow as teachers by making their beliefs explicit and then reflecting on their beliefs and linking these beliefs to the practice of teaching mathematics. The tasks described engaged the preservice teachers in examining beliefs critically in relation to visions of good teaching, developing an understanding of learners and learning, and developing the tools and dispositions to study teaching. Conclusions While an analysis of the data showed evidence that the preservice teachers became aware of their beliefs, reflected on their beliefs, and began to change their beliefs, the purpose of this manuscript is not to claim that the teachers changed for the good and that this change was enduring. Rather, the goal is to illuminate the tasks, provide the preservice teachers’ responses and reactions to the tasks, and to argue that these tasks constitute a form of learning to teach mathematics through assisted performance.

This research discusses the knowledge of content and teaching (KCT) and computational thinking (CT) of pre-service elementary school teachers on student work results. How much do pre-service teachers deepen students' thinking about the concepts of addition and subtraction? This research aims to get an overview of pre-service teachers' thinking about KCT and CT so that the results can be used to determine educational policies for developing human resource capabilities in elementary schools. The subjects of this research were three pre-service teachers at elementary school that selected by purposive sampling. The criteria for pre-service teachers are those who have taken basic concepts of mathematics, mathematics education, and mathematics development. The subjects in the low, medium, and high categories from state universities with A accreditation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The type of research is a case study. The research instruments namely the results of elementary school students ' work about addition and subtraction, then interview instruments to give an idea of how deeply they think about the material. The KCT’s findings are that pre-service teachers do not understand the Van De Walle concept of addition and subtraction, do not understand the prerequisites for addition and subtraction material, and pre-service teachers find unique ways of learning from students. In the CT component, there are two components that appear in them, namely pattern recognition and decomposition. An interesting finding was that pre-service teachers only learned about the Van de Walle technique after seeing the results of the work carried out by students. This means that previously they did not use those techniques at all. This picture shows that pre-service teachers' KCT and CT is still not optimal, so further, and in-depth research is needed to explore their understanding.

The aim of this study is to determine pre-service teachers' opinions about determining and performing classroom rules. This study was conducted with pre-service elementary school teachers who had taken the course of Classroom Management at the Department of Education at UludaUniversity in the academic year of 2006-2007. A total of 90 pre-service teachers among whom 47 were females and 43 were males participated. The Pre-Service Teachers Opinions About Determining and Performing Classroom Rules questionnaire was used as the data gathering tool in the study. The analyses of the data gathered during the study were made by using the percentage (%), frequency (f) and chi-square techniques. The pre-service teachers' opinions are discussed at the end of the study. SUMMARY Purpose and significance: In this survey, it was aimed to determine teachers' opinions about determining and performing classroom rules. The time of determining the classroom rules, the ways the rules are stated, the state of the students knowing the rules, determining the awards and sanctions for the students who obey and disobey the rules were examined as variables. Methods: This survey was conducted in the 2006-2007 academic year with the studens who had taken the course of Classroom Managament at the Department of Education at UludaUniversity. In the study, 90 pre-service teachers were included. The Pre-Service Teachers' Opinions about Determining and Performing Classroom Rules questionnaire was used as the data gathering tool in the study.In the evaulation of the data, SPSS 13.0 program was used. The study was made by using the percentage (%), frequency (f) and chi-square techniques. Results: The results of the study showed that the pre-service teachers would establish the classroom rules during the first few weeks of the academic year. The pre-service teachers would establish rules about taking permissions before talking, taking care of classroom and environment cleaning, not making noise and telling the truth. The classroom rules would be declared both in verbal and nonverbal ways. The pre-service teachers would take into account the class level, students' opinions and their needs while establishing the classroom rules and they would determine the awards and sanctions for some of the rules during establishing them. The pre-service teachers agreed that all of the students would know all the classroom rules. It was found no significant in the relationship with gender and the time of determining the classroom rules, the form of stating the rules, the state of the students knowing the rules and determining the awards and sanctions for students who obey and disobey the rules. Discussion: The results of this study suggest that the students carrying misbehaviors, which are acquired from families and environment, into classrooms, and having students from different environments in the same classroom create the problems in maintaining the rules. Because of this, pre- service teachers will have to communicate regularly and consistently with families at the beginning of academic years. The pre-service teachers, who study in the Departments of Education, may do projects about determining and performing classroom rules in their school experience courses. Thanks to that, they would not encounter so many misbehaviors about classroom rules. Some new studies can be made with the aim of improving the communication between schools and Departments of Education. For further research, it might be made some qualitative studies on the issue of determining and performing classroom rules and the results might be compared with the results of this study.

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate the ecological worldview of elementary school students, who are the future society’s main pillars, along with pre-service elementary teachers who will educate them. For this study, a questionnaire that has been verified by many people and is widely used was used.
 Methods The subjects of this study were 352 elementary school students and 92 pre-service elementary teachers. To elementary school students, the questionnaire ‘NEP Scale for Elementary School Students in Korea’ was printed and distributed. In addition, ‘The New Ecological Paradigm Scale’ was distributed online to pre-service elementary teachers. A total 336 questionnaires for elementary school students and 92 questionnaires for pre-service elementary teachers were collected. The data was analyzed using the SPSS statistical program.
 Results The results of this study are as follows. First, there was no statistically significant difference in the average values of the ecological worldview of elementary school students and pre-service elementary teachers. However, the average value of elementary school students in two sub-factors was higher than the average value of pre-service teachers. Second, as a result of analyzing the ecological worldview by background variables of elementary school students, there was no significant difference in average values according to grade level. However, the average values of some of the sub-factors showed significant differences according to gender. Third, as a result of analyzing the ecological worldview by background variables of pre-service elementary teachers, there was no significant difference in average values according to grade level. But there was a significant difference in the overall average value of ecological worldview and some of its sub-factors according to gender.
 Conclusions The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, an individual's ecological beliefs may be independent of age. Therefore, instructors should consider these characteristics when designing education related to ecological worldview. Second, children and adults may have different processes for constructing an ecological worldview. Thus, pre-service teachers and teachers must understand children’s ecological worldview. Third, the ecological worldview of elementary school students and pre-service teachers differ according to gender. Therefore, efforts are needed to clarify the cause from various aspects.

The main purpose of this study is to assess pre-service and public elementary mathematics school teachers’ conceptual understanding and computational abilities of fractions. 20 pre-service mathematics teachers and 24 in-service mathematics teachers participated in this study. In-service teachers were divided into two categories; one for teachers having a degree in mathematics and the other for teachers having a degree in any other discipline. Results showed that both pre-service and in-service teachers’ computational knowledge is greater than their representational knowledge. However, in-service teachers had difficulties in multiplication of mixed numbers (41.7% correct answers). The study revealed that regarding the computational knowledge no significant difference was found between in-service and pre-service teachers. When considering representational abilities, pre-service teachers were able to perform better than in-service teachers. The difference was significant (p<0.005). however, when we compared preservice teachers’ performance to in service teachers who graduated from the faculty of pedagogy, there was no significant difference (p=0.717). Moreover, faculty of pedagogy graduate in-service teachers performed better than preservice teachers which shed a light on the importance of teachers’ specialization even in elementary classes.

OECD-PISA which evaluates the education quality of Europe focused on mathematics, and Turkey was ranked 50 among 72 countries. When the mathematics literacy was analyzed in terms of years, it is seen that the performance of the students in Turkey in PISA 2015 was lower compared to PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. This shows that students have difficulty in comprehending the subjects in the mathematics curriculum. Therefore, learning experiences designed for the pupils to have rich mathematics experiences during elementary school is of higher importance. At this point, it is necessary to know the subjects that the pre-service teachers, who will be teachers of the future, are challenged in teaching mathematics. Therefore, the purpose of study is to determine the subjects in which elementary school pre-service teachers perceive teaching in elementary school mathematics as difficult and to examine the causes of these difficulties. The case study method is used in this study and the participants of the study are 120 pre-service classroom teachers who study in the fourth grade in a state university. Participants were administered a 19-item learning difficulty index covering mathematics learning areas of 1-4 grades (n = 120). The distribution of answers given by the pre-service teachers for each topic and the learning difficulty index for each topic were calculated. Interviews were done with the pre-service teachers in response to their responses to the questionnaire items to understand the causes of the difficulties. In interviews conducted one by one, the pre-service teachers were asked general mathematics lecture notes, mathematics fear level and the reasons for the topics they found difficult to teach.

A teacher’s educational philosophy reflects their understanding of education and their value system. Pre-service teachers' educational philosophies constitute an essential component of the education system, shaping the future of education. This study aims to determine pre-service teachers' educational philosophy tendencies (perennialism, essentialism, progressivism, and reconstructionism) and to examine these tendencies in terms of the personal variables they possess. The study, conducted in a survey model, included 383 pre-service teachers from eleven different teacher education programs at a faculty of education in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, covering second, third, and fourth-year students. Data were collected using the "Educational Philosophy Tendencies Scale" developed by Aytaç and Uyangör (2020) and a personal variables questionnaire prepared by the researchers. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software. It was determined that pre-service teachers had the highest tendency toward reconstructionism, followed by perennialism, then progressivism, and the lowest tendency toward essentialism. Their tendencies showed significant differences based on gender, department, and year of study. Male pre-service teachers exhibited higher tendencies toward progressivism and essentialism than female pre-service teachers. Significant differences were found among departments, particularly in the case of pre-service elementary school teachers, who exhibited significantly lower essentialist tendencies than six other departments. The tendencies of reconstructionism, essentialism, and perennialism significantly varied among fourth-year students compared to other levels. As pre-service teachers' overall grade point averages increased, their tendencies toward reconstructionism and perennialism increased slightly, whereas their tendencies toward essentialism decreased slightly. However, no significant differences were found based on age or type of high school graduation.

The main purpose of the current study was to develop a 50-item personality scale in Turkish and Spanish based on Big Five Model of Personality and to assess its construct validity and reliability. We also compared the personality of pre-service teachers enrolled in the department of elementary education in Turkey and Spain. The participants were 555 pre-service teachers enrolled in elementary education programs at a Turkish university (280) and at a Spanish university (275). Results of confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of the scale in both samples. However, 10 items had low factor loadings in their respective dimensions. Thus, they were removed from the scale. Findings regarding the comparison of Turkish and Spanish pre-service teachers revealed that they share similar personality traits; however, significant personality differences between Turkish and Spanish pre-service elementary school teachers emerged. Results of t tests on each dimension of personality revealed that the Turkish pre-service teachers’ Openness and Neuroticism scores were statistically higher than the Spanish pre-service teachers. On the other hand, the Spanish pre-service teachers’ Conscientiousness score was found to be statistically higher than that of the Turkish pre-service teachers.

Often pre-service early childhood and elementary teachers, many who are female, feel they are not good at math and appear uncomfortable at the prospect of teaching math. Given the influence pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward math might have on their learning, as well as that of their future students, examining the precursors of mathematical self-efficacy will prove helpful to instructors teaching math in elementary education coursework. Of relevance to the current study, some findings indicate achievement goals are linked to one’s self-efficacy for successfully completing mathematical tasks. However, published studies have not yet examined how the four achievement goals influence the self-efficacy for mathematical learning among pre-service elementary education students. Therefore, a unique purpose of this research is to focus on how achievement goals predict math self-efficacy among 163 female pre-service teachers enrolled in undergraduate elementary education math methods courses. Results reported here are part of a larger study examining pre-service teachers’ achievement goals for mathematical learning. Both mastery-approach and performance-approach goals were positive predictors of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for learning mathematics, while math anxiety predicted lower rates of self-efficacy.

This study explored the professional knowledge (PCK) of Korean traditional music that pre-service elementary school teachers should have designed classes to cultivate it, conducted practical Korean music classes for pre-service elementary school teachers, and looked at the changes in cultivation. The study was proceeded as follows.
 First, PCK which is the professional knowledge of Korean music required for pre-service teachers was reviewed through previous research, and subject knowledge, teaching method knowledge, and student understanding knowledge were selected as necessary knowledge. second, In order to foster professional knowledge of Korean traditional music for pre-service teachers, the class design applying PCK was specified. Third, In order to form PCK in the designed class plan, teaching steps such as understanding the concept-exploring the concept expression of practical skills-application and execution of practical skills-internalization of practical skills-evaluating practical skills' are set, and based on this, Korean traditional music practical classes are conducted. conducted by pre-service teachers. Fourth, Through the distribution of questionnaires before and after class and the class diaries were submitted by pre-service teachers after mock lessons, changes in pre-service teachers' PCK cultivation could be confirmed. 
 As a result of the study, it was confirmed that there was a significant improvement in all professional knowledge of Korean music after conducting practical Korean music classes using PCK. In addition, it was confirmed that the prospective teachers gained confidence in the future Korean music class and that there was a change in their perception of the class. Through the above research results, it was confirmed that the practical education of Korean traditional music applied with PCK is effective for the development of professional knowledge for pre-service teachers and positively changes the perception of Korean traditional music education. Based on this study, research on Korean traditional music classes based on PCK should be systematically and diversely conducted, and research should be continued to prepare developmental measures to cultivate professional knowledge of traditional Korean music in pre-service teachers.