Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to explore prospective mathematics teachers’ knowledge of rational and irrational numbers. The study in which qualitative research methods were used were designed as a case study. 40 prospective teachers of secondary mathematics education constituted the participants of the study. The data was collected through the open-ended questionnaire developed by the researchers and semi-structured interviews. Based on the analysis of the data collected, it was figured out that most of the participants lacked concept knowledge regarding rational and irrational numbers. It was also found out that the participants had some misconceptions about that subject, and that they were not successful enough to differentiate between rational and irrational numbers. Moreover, it was determined that they were not aware of equivalent of different representations used for a number, and that they remained incapable of identifying cardinalities of rational and irrational number sets, and of comparing one another.

Keywords: