An Analysis of Turkish Prospective Teachers' Perception of Constructivist View of Learning and Teaching

Abstract

The present study investigated prospective teachers' perception of constructivist view of learning and teaching. A case study design was adopted in the study. Elementary and Science prospective teachers (4th grade) participated (n=226) in the study. After having provided a caricature that represented the transmission view of teaching and learning prospective teachers were asked to make a caricature to represent the constructivist view of learning and teaching. They were also required to provide an explanation for their drawings. The drawing and its explanation were analysed together ideographically. The results of this analysis showed that the majority of the prospective teachers' described the constructivist view where the learner actively constructs the knowledge. Five major elements were detected in their perception. These were; learner's role, teacher's role, philosophy of constructivist view, instructional materials and learner's acquirements. Teacher and learner's role existed in all of the prospective teachers' drawing. Yet, the role of the teacher and the learner seem to differ in nature depending on the prospective teacher's perception of the constructivist view and preference of its brands as cognitive or socio-cultural.