Chapter 15: Turkish Pre-Service Teachers’ Views About Manipulative Use in Mathematics Teaching: The Role of Field Experience and Methods Course

The recent curriculum reform in Turkey emphasizes the use of manipulatives in the teaching of mathematics. In such a context, the meaningful use of manipulative materials in Turkish schools will be an important issue for the near future. In this sense, the purpose of this study was to explore the influence of methods courses and field experiences on pre-service elementary mathematics teachers’ perceptions about the use of manipulatives in a real classroom environment. The findings suggest the experiences that preservice teachers had through a methods course, and the field experience provided them an important chance to reflect upon their beliefs about use of manipulatives in a real class environment.