Research Information System
Education Journal, vol.12, no.5, pp.235-239, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Abstract: One of the most difficult mathematical subjects to learn and teach today is the subject of probability. The review of the existing literature on the subject of teaching probability reveals that students struggle with several aspects of probability. One of the key findings of these studies is that challenges with teaching probability are faced not just by students, but also by prospective teachers and even teachers. Knowing prospective mathematics teachers' views on probability teachings, particularly the challenges they encounter, will be the first step in educating teachers who are well-equipped in probability. This study therefore aims to reveal the views of prospective mathematics teachers on probability subjects. The present study aims to reveal the views of prospective mathematics teachers on probability lessons. The study group consisted of 32 senior-year prospective teachers in the Elementary Mathematics Teacher Education Program of a state university in Türkiye. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling technique due to their enrollment in probability and statistics lessons at the university, which aligns with the study objectives. An open-ended questionnaire prepared by the researcher in line with expert opinions was used as a data collection tool. The data were analyzed by content analysis, one of the qualitative data analysis techniques. The data obtained from the documents in which prospective teachers answered the questions in writing were categorized under six categories: experience, lack of knowledge, difficulty of the subject, indifference of students, its impact on the profession, and solution suggestions. The findings of the study revealed that the prospective teachers continued the prejudices they had acquired during their primary and secondary education years at the university. Furthermore, they reported that these prejudices persisted even after they entered the profession. Since these prejudices of prospective teachers have negative effects on probability learning and teaching, probability lessons should be meticulously emphasized in teacher training. The fact that they limited probability to basic concepts, had taken a course on teaching probability and statistics, and did not mention these practices in written documents even though they could offer alternative solutions to the problems faced demonstrated that their prejudices were more dominant.