The connection of mathematics with real-life situations: Preservice elementary mathematics teachers' perceptions of creating and evaluating story problems

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the perceptions of preservice elementary mathematics teachers about creating and evaluating real-life connections in story problems. The study was conducted according to the case design. The study group consists of 35 preservice teachers taking Mathematical Connection Teaching course. Study instruction was used as a data collection tool. While analyzing the data, content analysis and the codes of similar studies were used. According to the findings, real-life problem preferences of the teacher candidates are generally about numbers and operations learning domain at the seventh-grade level. Preservice teachers' aim while creating story problems is to show students how to use them in real-life and to create awareness. The preservice teachers mostly paid attention to the suitability of the student and grade level while creating problems. While preservice teachers' real-life associations were predominantly in the form of examining accurate data, only one study met the evaluation criteria. Most preservice teachers thought that the story problems could be associated with real-life situations. Consequently, it was determined that the preservice teachers found the reflection of real-life situations in the story problems useful for students, and the mathematics subjects can be associated with real-life situations.