Pre-service Teachers’ Use of Visual Representations

Gökhan Özsoy

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2018) IEJEE

Pre-service Teachers’ Use of Visual Representations

Gökhan Özsoy

Published September 29, 2018 | Pages: 49-54 | Views: 739

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the type and accuracy of the visual representations that the pre-service teachers generate in the pedagogical solution of the word problems in terms of the spatial skill levels of the pre-service teachers. It is designed as a descriptive study in the screening model in accordance with the purpose of the study. The research was carried out in 2017 with 55 pre-service teachers attending the Primary School Teacher Education programme at Ordu University. The data on participants' spatial competence levels were obtained through Purdue Spatial Visualization Test and on the type of visual representations were obtained by coding the data obtained from the solution of a word problem given to the participants according to the criteria specified by the researchers. In the analysis of the data, descriptive analysis and content analysis were applied. As a result of the research, the visual representation types (schematic and pictorial) generated by the pre-service teachers have been determined and it was found that the pre-service teachers with high spatial ability generated correctly structured schematic representations; whereas candidates with low spatial skills usually generated pictorial representations.

<p>The purpose of this research is to evaluate the type and accuracy of the visual representations that the pre-service teachers generate in the pedagogical solution of the word problems in terms of the spatial skill levels of the pre-service teachers. It is designed as a descriptive study in the screening model in accordance with the purpose of the study. The research was carried out in 2017 with 55 pre-service teachers attending the Primary School Teacher Education programme at Ordu University. The data on participants' spatial competence levels were obtained through Purdue Spatial Visualization Test and on the type of visual representations were obtained by coding the data obtained from the solution of a word problem given to the participants according to the criteria specified by the researchers. In the analysis of the data, descriptive analysis and content analysis were applied. As a result of the research, the visual representation types (schematic and pictorial) generated by the pre-service teachers have been determined and it was found that the pre-service teachers with high spatial ability generated correctly structured schematic representations; whereas candidates with low spatial skills usually generated pictorial representations.</p>

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Keywords

Visual representations, spatial ability, problem solving, teacher education

Affiliations

Gökhan Özsoy

Ordu University

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How to Cite

Özsoy, G. (2018). Pre-service Teachers’ Use of Visual Representations. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(1), 49–54. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/632