An Investigation of Mathematics Teacher Trainees’ Modelling Skills Based on Their Thinking Structures

This study aims to establish the analytic, geometric and harmonic thinking structures of Mathematics teacher trainees, and to see how these structures determine their mathematical modelling skills. The research has been carried out as a special case study and uses multi-method approach. The study group consists of 75 teacher trainees who attend a post graduate programme at a state university. The programme does not require the submission of a dissertation. Mathematical Process Instrument has been used to assess the thinking structures of the Mathematics teacher trainees, and to determine their modelling skills Mathematical Modelling Tests have been carried out. It has been found that %12 of the Mathematics teacher trainees have geometric, %31 analytic and the remaining %57 have harmonic thinking structures. The overall correct answer score of the teacher trainees in the modelling tests is %40. On the basis of these percentages, it has been concluded that thinking structures do not determine the overall success rates in the modelling test. However, in the modelling test, the percentage of the correct answers given to the questions each of which is designed to test a different skill varies according to the thinking structures. This result gives an indication that the performance of the students can be further improved if the thinking structures are taken into account when teaching programmes, text books and lesson plans are decided and organised in line with aims and objectives.