An investigation of pre-service mathematics teacher's understanding of unit in measuring area

In this study, the aim was to examine the understanding of prospective middle school mathematics teachers regarding the concept of unit in area measurement. For this purpose, a survey design was employed. The study was conducted with 153 prospective middle school mathematics teachers who were enrolled in five universities during the 2022-2023 academic year. The data were collected using the Unit Concept Test in Measuring Area, which was developed by the researcher. The responses of the prospective teachers to open-ended questions in the test were coded, and frequencies and percentages related to these codes were calculated. As a result of the research, the prospective teachers' understanding of area measurement, the concept of unit in area measurement, the meaning of unit in a formula, the meaning of standard/non-standard units, and the connection between measurement unit and measuring instrument were revealed. It was observed that prospective teachers found it easier to express measurable properties while struggling to express immeasurable ones. They could interpret the precision in standard measurement units more comfortably compared to non-standard units, and they had difficulty in conceptualizing the derived unit, unit square. It was also noted that a small number of prospective teachers were aware of the idea of equivalent units and unit iteration during the measurement process. Keywords: measurement, area, area measurement, unit, pre-service teachers