Abstract:

Mathematical connection skills needs to be carefully studied at the education faculties, as it is one of the most important components of mathematics education and mathematical power. In this context, the aim of the study is to reveal the relationship between the basic concepts presented in the ‘Introduction to Algebra’ course of the Elementary Mathematics Teaching Program, through the concept maps. The study was designed with qualitative research design and conducted with the case study method, which was used to examine the situations of one or more participants in an event, training or activity in detail. 61 elementary mathematics teacher candidates participated in the research. During the course, first the concepts are presented with definitions and examples, then each concept is compared with the previous ones and their different and similar aspects are discussed, at the end of the course, the meaning of the new concept learned is negotiatied by relating to the previous concepts. At the beginning of the application process which lasted fourteen weeks, the concept map was re-reminded to the pre-service teachers along with examples and features related to the forms of creation. At the end of the application, the participants were asked to create a concept map about the specific algebraic structures they encountered during the term. The main data collection tool of the study is these concept maps. However, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of prospective teachers in order to ensure triangulation, which is one of the preventions to increase reliability in qualitative studies, and personal observations of the researcher were included in the findings. The data obtained during the study were analyzed by descriptive method which is frequently used in qualitative data analysis and also a four-valued analysis method was used to facilitate the grouping of mathematical association levels and to provide quantitative data support. The excerpts from the interview records were presented with the concept map formed by the relevant teacher candidates and thus the structure of the mathematical association was tried to be illustrated in more detail. It was determined that most of the pre-service mathematics teachers were able to make ‘moderate’ connections. It is thought that the learning environments that emphasize the hierarchical and related structure of mathematical concepts positively affect the development of mathematical connection skills.

Keywords: