The picture of practicum experiences through the lens of high school mathematics student teachers

The aim of this study is to examine the views of mathematics student teachers about the School Experience I-II and the Teaching Practice courses enabled to their acquisition of the professional pre-practice experience. 36 mathematics student teachers from four different state universities in their last year of the Department of Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education in the 2006-2007 academic year participated. Data were collected using six open-ended questions oriented to the mathematics student teachers. The student teachers' written responses to these questions were analyzed with content analysis. In this research, it was found that an important part of mathematics student teachers do not find sufficient these courses in terms of the way they are administered and applied since the guide teacher and the faculty member could not fulfill their duties and responsibilities, that the theoretical knowledge and applications gained through teacher education could not be reflected to the training courses, and on the other hand, student teachers lean toward sharing experiences during those courses to acquire different applications and experiences. It is thought that this research will contribute to the design of professional pre-practice experiences. Some suggestions are provided according to the research findings.

Professional Pre-Practice Experience ,

School Experience ,

Teaching Practice ,

Mathematics ,