Effects of reflective writing in mathematics methods courses on pre-service teachers' perceptions

Problem Durumu: Yazımın öğrenme üzerindeki pozitif etkisi üzerine pek çok araştırma yapılmıştır. Son yıllarda, yazımın, matematik derslerinde kullanılması üzerine yoğunlaşılmış, ama matematik derslerindeki yazımlar günlük tutma dışına pek çıkamamıştır. Ayrıca, matematik oğretmenlerinin yazımı hala bir ek ve yük olarak algıladıkları çalışmalarca gözlemlenmiştir. Bu durum, öğretmenlerin, matematik derslerinde, yazım tekniğini kullanmalarının faydası konusunda görüşlerinin gerçekten değişip değişmediği ve yazımı, matematik öğretmede, ne denli sınıflarında kullandıkları sorularını gündeme getirmektedir. Araştırmanın Amacı: Bu araştırma, üç soruya yanıt vermeyi amaçlar: 1) İlkokul öğretmen adaylarının, eğitim derslerine girişte, yazımın öğrenmeye etkisi üzerine görüşleri ile matematik öğrenmeye etkisi üzerine olan görüşleri ayni midir? 2) Yazım ağırlıklı matematik metod dersleri, ilkokul öğretmen adaylarının yazımın matematik öğrenmedeki etkisi üzerindeki görüşlerinde anlamlı bir farklılık sağlar mı? 3) Yazım ağırlıklı matematik metod dersleri, ilkokul öğretmen adaylarının yazımı, kendi matematik derslerinde kullanımları açısından, anlamlı bir farklılık yaratır mı?

Matematik metod dersinde yansıtıcı yazımın öğretmen adaylarının yazımın faydalarını algılamasına etkisi

Problem Statement: The use of writing as a learning tool is well-documented in the literature. The emphasis on writing in mathematics courses has been the focus of attention in the last two decades; however, writing in mathematics courses has mostly been restricted to journal writing and perceived as an add-on by many mathematics teachers. Thus the question remains as to whether teachers’ beliefs and practices towards writing as a learning tool in mathematics have changed. Purpose of the Study: The study investigates whether incoming pre-service teachers’ perceptions towards writing as a learning tool in general differs from their perceptions towards mathematics writing specifically, whether writing in mathematics methods courses has any effect on future teachers’ perceptions of writing as a learning tool in mathematics, and whether integrating writing in a mathematics methods course induces pre-service teachers to incorporate writing in their own courses. Method: Control and experimental groups were established among 166 incoming education students at an urban college. During the 12-week semester, the experimental group had 11 writing assignments and a term project in which they wrote a lesson plan, while the control group had only the latter. Pre- and post-course surveys were conducted to gauge perceptions of writing as a learning tool generally, and in mathematics courses particularly, including in elementary courses. Differences in perceptions were computed and compared between control and experimental groups. The lesson plans from both groups were collected and their inclusion of writing-to-learn activities assessed. Results: Significant differences were found between incoming teacher candidates’ perceptions of writing-to-learn activities generally and in mathematics courses specifically. Significant differences were also observed in the pre- and post-course comparisons of the Perceived Benefits of Writing-to-Learn Activities in Mathematics between the control and experimental groups, in favor of the latter. No significant difference was observed between the two groups’ pre- and post-course comparisons regarding the Perceived Benefits of Writing-to-Learn Activities in Mathematics for Elementary School Students survey; however, significant differences were observed in their implementation of writing-to-learn activities in their lesson plans. Recommendations: Theoretical pedagogical knowledge is not sufficient for pre-service teachers to incorporate writing into their own lessons. Though teacher candidates may learn by rote that writing-to-learn activities are useful, only pre-service modeling ensures that their teaching will reflect their knowledge in the classroom.

PDF

___

Abel, J. P., & F. J. Abel. (1988). Writing in the mathematics classroom. Clearing House, 62 (4), 155-158.
Abdalkhani, J., & Menon, R. (1998). Using writing in college mathematics courses. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 9 (3), 3-17.
American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges (AMATYC). (2006). Beyond cross roads in mathematics. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Prentice Hall, Inc.: MA.
Angelo, T. A. (1995). Beginning the dialogue: Thoughts on promoting critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22 (1), 6-7.
Beins, B. C. (1993). Writing assignments in statistics classes encourage students to learninterpretation. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 161-164.
Brownell, W. A. (1987). Meaning and skill - maintaining the balance. Arithmetic Teacher, 34 (8), 18-25.
Connolly, P., & Vilardi, T. (1989). Writing to learn mathematics and science. New York: Teachers College Press.
Davison, D. M., & Pearce, D. L. (1988). Using writing activities to reinforce mathematics instruction. Arithmetic Teacher, 35 (8), 42-45.
Dunn, D. S. (1996). Collaborative writing in a statistics and research methods course. Teaching of Psychology, 23 (38), 3.
Dunn, D. S. (2000). Letter exchanges on statistics and research methods: writing, responding, and learning. Teaching of Psychology, 27 (2), 128-130.
Dunn, D. S., & Toedter, L. J. (1991). The collaborative honors project in psychology: Enhancing student and faculty development. Teaching of Psychology, 18, 178- 180.
Ferguson, D. L., (2005). Mathematical and statistical reasoning in compelling contexts: quantitative approaches for building and ınterrogating personal, disciplinary, ınterdisciplinary and worldviews. Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://serc.carleton.edu/files/sencer/backgrounders/sencer_mathematicalreasoning. pdf
Lipman, M. (1988, September). Critical thinking--What can it be? Educational Leadership, 46 (1), 38-43.
Ma, L. (1999). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics: teachers' understanding of fundamental mathematics. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
McGovern, T. V., Hogshead, D.L. (1990). Learning about writing, thinking about teaching. Teaching of Pschology, 17, 5-10.
McPeck, J. (1981). Critical thinking and education. Oxford: Martin Robertson,
Nahrgang, C. L. and B. T. Petersen. (1986). Using writing to learn mathematics. Mathematics Teacher, 79 (6), 461-465.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2004). Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics. Reston, Va.: NCTM.
Norris, S. P. (1985). Synthesis of research on critical thinking. Educational Leadership, 42 (8), 40-46.
O'Shea, J. (2006). Encouraging good mathematical writing. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science & Technology, 37 (1), 101-103.
Quinn, R. J., Wilson, M. M. (1997). Writing in the mathematics classroom: Teacher beliefs and practices. Clearing House, 71 (1), 14-20.
Schmidt, L. A. (2004). Psychometric Evaluation of the Writing-to-Learn Attitude Survey. Journal of Nursing Education, 43 (10), 458-465.
Siegel, H. (1980). Critical thinking as an educational ideal. Educational Forum 45 (1), 7- 23.
Silver, J. (1999). A survey on the use of writing-to-learn in mathematics classes. Mathematics Teacher, 5, 388-389.
Smith, P. C. (1995). Assessing writing and statistical competence in probability and statistics. Teaching of Psychology, 22 (1), 49-51.
Wood, K D. (1992). Fostering collaborative reading and writing experiences in mathematics. Journal of Reading, 36 (2), 96-103.