The application and evaluation of in-service education (İnset) course prepared for gaining the reflective thinking skills to the primary school mathematics teachers

The aim of this study is to gain the skill of reflective thinking to the Elementary Mathematics Teachers and to develop, apply and evaluate an in-service training course program to gain professional knowledge and skills that are required for using this skill effectively in their courses. The study sample consists of six elementary school maths teachers. Mixed approach is adopted and the four stages of the study has been completed. In the first stage of the research, the needs of in-service education (INSET) to gain reflective thinking skills to the elementary mathematics teachers have been identified and for this, literature review, surveys and interviews have been conducted. In the second stage, a course has been developed to meet the needs of INSET of the teachers. While the program of INSET course has been created in the context of the research, the model of system approach consisting of five stages including the needs analysis, design, development, application and evaluation has been adopted. In the third stage, Training program has been submitted for teachers as 20 hours application. The interview and RTTS scale developed in the context of research have been applied before INSET course. It has been re-applied in order to examine the exchange of knowledge and skills after the course. Morever, teachers have been asked to keep theme diaries during the course and prepared documents have been analyzed. At the last stage, they have been asked to evaluate the course of INSET. For this reason, the interview and survey techniques have been used again. As a result of the research, although there is no statistically significant difference quantitatively of the INSET course prepared for gaining Reflective thinking skills, it has been determined to contribute qualitatively to the development of knowledge and skills. Documents prepared and discussions have supported the need of the integration of reflective thinking into mathematics education. In addition, teachers have generally evaluated the course of INSET positively has been revealed. Suggestions have been made such as teachers? being taken in INSET course at regular intervals, INSET course?s being essential for the branches and provision of the environment for teachers to gain and apply these skills.Key Words: Reflective Thinking, In-service Education, Primary Education of Teachers of Mathematics