Mathematics and Science Teacher Candidates’ Beliefs of Developing Questioning Skills in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this instrumental case study is to investigate mathematics and science teacher candidates’ (TCs) beliefs about questioning and acquisition of questioning skills. Twentyeight seniors from a major university in northern Turkey volunteered for the study. We conducted one to one semi-structured interviews with 10 of the TCs, the remaining 18 TCs provided their answers via e-mail. We utilized the constant comparison method in analyzing the interview transcripts. The coding of 28 transcripts revealed five fundamental themes: roles of questioning techniques in education, development of questioning skills, roles of colleges in developing questioning skills, roles of internships in developing questioning skills, and factors preventing students from answering questions. Results indicated that even though questioning is seen as a critical skill by teacher candidates, the theories and practices about developing questioning skills during the teacher canditates’ training in Turkey is inadequate and there is a need for more emphasis on questioning during college and student internship

Keywords

• Questioning skill, teacher candidate, belief, mathematics, science

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