Özet:

The purpose of this research was to examine Turkish and Pennsylvanian prospective elementary teachers’ understandings of teaching science and mathematics in inquiry-based earning environments. Twenty-six Pennsylvanian prospective elementary teachers who attended to Elementary Education Department of Pennsylvania State University and thirtyfive Turkish prospective elementary teachers who attended to Elementary Education Department of Marmara University, participated in this study. Data were collected throughout the Spring 98 semester within the context of Teaching Science course in the U.S.A.- Pennsylvania, and Spring 99 semester within the context of Teaching Science and Mathematics courses in Turkiye-İstanbul. At both places course instructors exemplified inquiry-based learning environments. Data sources were course assignments and in-class activities. These class assignments included participants’ pre- and post-philosophies of teaching science, in Pennsylvania, pre- and post-philosophies of teaching science and mathematics, in Turkiye. In these philosophy statements participants at both places explained how they perceived the nature of science and the teachers’ and students’ roles in inquirybased learning environments. In-class activities were Nature of Science Card Game and a discussion centered around a scenario where an inquiry-based teaching took place. In addition to the scenario taken from the National Science Education Standards in the U.S.A., Turkish participants were asked to prepare a scenario to reflect what they understood from inquiry-based science and mathematics teaching. In-class assignments were open-coded and patterns were noted to identify categories. Assertions based on these categories were made. Data revealed that regardless of the differences in culture and schooling at these two places, inquiry-based learning environments exemplified by course instructors were influential in changing Turkish and Pennsylvanian prospective elementary teachers’ traditional views about not the nature of science but teaching science and mathematics. Key words : Scientific inquiry, science education, mathematics education.

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