Matematikkundervisning i skolen - Grunnskolelærerstudenters egne erfaringer som elev i skolen

Abstract

The purpose of this study has been to gain some insight into how pre-service teachers experienced mathematics and the teaching of mathematics from school age up until they meet the subject in their formal education. In order to be able to do more research into this topic, I have used collected data from a complete survey. The respondents were 105 pre-service teachers, some of who have mathematics as an obligatory subject (GLU 1-7), while the rest have mathematics as a chosen subject (GLU 5-10). The students were supposed to respond to different statements in the survey, regarding personal experiences from mathematics in school. The students' comments in this survey make qualitative analysis possible, while multiple choice questions and percentage-estimate questions make quantitative analysis possible, to a certain extent. The research questions of this study are as following: 1. How do the pre-service teachers remember their former mathematics teachers? 2. How do the pre-service teachers express self-concept in relation to mathematics? 3. What beliefs do they have about mathematics as a subject? 4. Are there any differences between how students express themselves based on their line of study, or which mathematical background they have from upper secondary school? I have used a grounded theory approach to analyze the statements from the students. This approach resulted in three main categories: (1) statements about the teacher, (2) statements about themselves and (3) statements about mathematics as a subject. Those are the categories I am doing further research on, as the main focus of my study. I have also made some quantitative calculations to further examine trends in the group of students. The theoretical framework of this study is highly related to beliefs, and how the beliefs of pupils and teachers are important to what goes on in the classroom. I am trying to clarify what is meant by self-concept and what a teacher of mathematics has to be capable of. I am also including prior research about pre-service teachers. The results from this study suggest that the pre-service teachers bring with them different experiences and beliefs from their own schooling. The pre-service teachers highlight the importance of a mathematics teacher’s solid mathematical and educational knowledge, as well as proper personal qualities. The pre-service teachers express self-concept by describing grades in mathematics and by comparing themselves to others. They stress the importance of rules and understanding as key features of mathematics. Quantitative analysis of the raw data suggest that there are some differences between the two groups of pre-service teachers, based on whether they are studying GLU 1-7 or GLU 5-10, and which level of mathematics they chose at upper secondary school.