Abstract :
The aim of this research is to determine the metaphors that construct perceptions of preservice teachers at Mugla University about the concepts of “mathematics teacher”, “mathematics”, and “mathematics lessons.”Seventy six preservice teachers from two programs participated in the study during the survey item construction phase and 1185 preservice teachers from 9 different programs completed the constructed survey. According to the findings, the perceptions of preservice teachers about the 3 concepts differed based on their programs. The “mathematics teacher” concept was mostly perceived as “knowledgeable” and “authoritarian” metaphors. The “mathematics” concept was related to “intelligence”, “elegant”, “necessary”, “ability”, “difficult”, and “success” metaphors. The least chosen metaphors were “unnecessary”, “easy”, and “authority.” Regarding the concept of “mathematics lessons”, preservice teachers’ perceptions were classified into 3 groups based on their programs. Preservice teachers in the science education, elementary education, and early childhood education programs related the “mathematics lessons” concept with positive metaphors; preservice teachers in the German education, English education, and Turkish education programs related the “mathematics lessons” concept with partly positive perceptions, but with negative perceptions during the secondary education time period; preservice teachers in the music education, art education, and social sciences education programs related the “mathematics lessons” concept with negative perceptions, in particular during the secondary education time period.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Mathematics teacher , mathematics , mathematics , math lesson , metaphor
