Examining Mathematics Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences of School Practicum

Abstract

This article presents findings from research about a practice teaching course designed to help mathematics pre-service teachers to learn from the practices of school teachers and supervisors. For this reason, the aim of this study is to research the contribution of the practicum course to the teacher candidates understanding of the teaching process. The participants in this study were 61 pre-service teachers, enrolled in a required six-hour teaching practicum course taught in the last year of the mathematics education program at a large state university located on the north coast of Turkey. To answer the research question, information was primarily obtained from reflection reports prepared by the supervisor. Content analysis was completed to reveal the emerging themes and codes. The results indicate that practicum contributed in several ways to novice teachers’ view of teaching. These include preparing for the profession; application of theory-practice; getting to know students and being aware of the difficulties.