The Process of Teaching and Learning from the Views of Prospective Mathematics Teachers: The Case of Algebraic Inequalities

This study explores the views of prospective mathematics teachers on the process of teaching and learning about algebraic inequalities. Phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The participants of the study consisted of 6 prospective middle school mathematics teachers studying in the last year of the Elementary Mathematics Teacher Education Program of a university in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye in the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The obtained data were analyzed using content analysis, one of the qualitative analysis methods. As a result of the analysis of the interviews with the prospective middle school mathematics teachers, three main themes were obtained. Teaching inequalities, the difficulties that students may experience in inequalities, and the methods that can be used to overcome difficulties were the main categories that emerged. Direct quotations from the prospective teachers’ views were also included in the presentation of the findings. As a result of the study, it is recommended that more practice should be included in teacher education programs to improve prospective mathematics teachers' knowledge and experience of meaningful learning and overcoming difficulties.