Özet:

The teachers' subject-domain competencies play a vital role at the source of the difficulties that students have with rational numbers in elementary schools. The aim of this study is to identify pre-service elementary school teachers' (i.e., mathematics, science and elementary school teachers) conceptualizations of rational numbers. The sample of the study consisted of 277 senior pre-service teachers; 72 from mathematics teaching department, 60 from science teaching department, and 145 from primary school teaching department. The Rational Number Conceptualization Test, including 14 questions, was administered to pre-service teachers and semi-structured interviews, including 10 questions, were conducted afterwards in order to identify their rational number conceptualizations. Statistically significant results were found on the conceptualization levels of conceptual rational number problems among pre-service teachers in favor of mathematics and science pre-service teachers. While there was no statistically significant difference between mathematics and science pre-service teachers or between mathematics and elementary school pre-service teachers on the conceptual levels of operational rational number problems, a statistically significant difference was found between science and primary school pre-service teachers in favor of science pre-service teachers. The collected data from the semi-structured interviews revealed that pre-service teachers have difficulties on the conceptualization of rational numbers and on learning and applying the models used to teach rational numbers. In light of the findings of this study and related studies in the literature, teaching approaches that might enhance pre-service teachers' conceptualization levels of rational numbers were discussed and some suggestions were made.

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