Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Views on the Process of Mathematics Literacy Problem Writing

Abstract

Connecting mathematical concepts to real-life situations is a crucial skill in math class. Using mathematical literacy problems in classes may be an option to make connections with real life. In this context, the aim of this research is to reveal the experiences of preservice mathematics teachers in the process of writing mathematical literacy problems and to determine the difficulties they encountered. The participants of the research were 28 preservice teachers who were taking the mathematical literacy elective course in the 2022-2023 spring semester. In this qualitative research design, preservice teachers were provided with essential theoretical information on mathematical literacy over nine-weeks. They were then presented with mathematical literacy questions and their analyses were conducted. Following five weeks, participants worked in groups of 3-4 individuals, each group creating four mathematical literacy problems relating various content areas. At the end of their studies, in order to determine their experience regarding problem posing process, preservice teachers were given a survey consisting of open-ended questions. As a result of the analysis of the data obtained from the survey, it was seen that the issues in which the preservice mathematics teachers found themselves inadequate were more than the issues in which they found themselves competent. It was observed that participants focused on choosing context and writing the problem in accordance with the real life. While one group found themselves very competent in this regard, the other group found themselves quite inadequate. In addition, preservice teachers thought that they needed to examine more mathematical literacy questions and made writing attempts in order to pose qualified mathematical literacy problems.