Development of Pre-service Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Skills in Interpretation of Student Thinking in the Context of Lesson Study

Year 2019, Volume: 14 , 67 - 72, 20.09.2019

Nadide Yılmaz İ. Elif Yetkın Ozdemır

Abstract

Mathematics
teachers’ knowledge of students’ thinking has an important effect on the
teaching-learning process (Cai, Ding & Wang, 2014; Clarkson & Presmeg,
2008). Teachers who understand student thinking sufficiently can interpret
student thinking effectively and can anticipate student misconceptions,
difficulties, and errors. Furthermore, they can overcome these challenges with
appropriate explanations (An, Kulm & Wu, 2004; Ball, Thames & Phelps,
2008). The research revealed, however, that teachers/pre-service teachers have
difficulty interpreting student thinking (Crepso, 2000; 2003). This led to the
conclusion that pre-service teachers need to develop skills in understanding
and interpreting the student perspective (Hiebert, Morris & Glass 2003).
The scope of this study was to improve pre-service middle school mathematics
teachers’ knowledge and interpretation of student thinking through lesson
study. Three senior pre-service teachers participated in this study.
Pre-service teachers implemented three practice lesson study cycles in a real
classroom. Data was obtained from documents, video recordings, observations,
field notes, and reflective papers. In order to analyze data, content analysis
was used. Results showed that the pre-service teachers had some challenges
knowing and interpreting student thinking at the beginning of the study. As
lesson study cycles proceeded, pre-service teachers began to take into account
student thinking, design and implement lesson plans according to students’
needs and difficulties. 

Keywords

Teachers' knowledge of students, Discussion skills, Lesson study

References

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