Investigation of Primary Pre-service Teachers’ Concept Images on Cylinder and Cone

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to determine the primary pre-service teachers’ concept images of cylinder and cone. For this purpose, pre-service teachers’ definitions and drawings of these objects were examined. Qualitative research method was used. A written questionnaire consisting of eight open-ended and multiple-choice questions was administered to 126 primary pre-service teachers chosen by convenience sampling which is one of non-random sampling method. The data were analyzed by both descriptive and content analysis. The results revealed that primary pre-service teachers did not have a sufficient knowledge about the concepts of cylinder and cone. In addition, the pre-service teachers’ images of these objects were mostly based on prototype examples. Having prototype concept image will lead to misconceptions.