What Do Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Think about ContextBased Learning? A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the pre-service mathematicsteachers’ views on context-based learning and contextual problems.The study was designed with a phenomenology model which is one ofthe qualitative research methods. The study was carried out with 12prospective teachers who were studying in mathematics and scienceeducation department of education faculty of a state university. Withinthe scope of the project, semi-structured interview form was used to getthe views of the pre-service mathematics teachers about theirexperiences based on context-based learning activities. Content analysiswas used in the analysis of the data obtained from the interview form.According to the results of the study, it was seen that pre-servicemathematics teachers exhibited both cognitive and affective positiveapproaches to context-based learning. However, it was seen that thepre-service mathematics teachers experience of teaching wereinsufficient in identifying deficiencies for context-based learning.