Investigation of knowledge and usage levels of problem-solving strategies of prospective classroom teachers

Abstract

Today, it is important how much individuals acquire knowledge and use this theoretical knowledge in their daily life. A qualified training program is expected to train individuals who can solve problems. The prospective classroom teachers, who are expected to train individuals who can solve problems, should also have knowledge about the problem-solving process and applying it to the problem situations that they face in their own lives. This situation is thought to have a positive effect on the academic achievement of the students who will be trained. The study was conducted at the beginning of 2019-2020 academic year with 52 third grade prospective classroom teachers. Semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers were used to examine the knowledge and usage levels of the prospective classroom teachers about problem-solving strategies. This study concluded that prospective classroom teachers could informally use some problem-solving strategies, even if they were not trained. However, the prospective classroom teachers failed to perform as expected.