Investigation of analysis success and Spatial Visualization skills of Preservice Primary Mathematics teachers on the area and volumes of rotational objects

The current research's aim is to examine success of analysis and spatial visualization skills of primary school mathematics pre-service teachers about rotational objects. In the study, Explanatory Research Design which is a mixed design in which quantitative and qualitative designs are used together, was used. A six-item Area and Volume Calculation Scale about Rotational Objects and a five-item Spatial Visualization Scale about Rotational Objects were developed by the researchers. After receiving expert opinion on the scales, reliability-validity studies were carried out and the scales were given their final form by applying the necessary statistical tests. In the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic years, the Area and Volume Calculation Scale about Rotational Objects was applied to 78 pre-service teachers attending the second year of the elementary mathematics teaching undergraduate program at a state university in İzmir. The analysis of this scale, which is evaluated with partial scoring, was made using quantitative techniques. The Spatial Visualization Scale about Rotational Objects, on the other hand, was applied to 22 pre-service teachers selected randomly from the same sample, by interview method, and their answers were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative techniques. With content analysis, the issues that pre-service teachers had difficulties with rotational objects were determined in detail. While pre-service teachers are generally successful in calculating area and volume about rotational objects; they were more successful in area calculation than volume calculation. A statistically significant difference was found between the participants' ability to calculate area and volume in rotational objects and their spatial visualization skills. The subjects that pre-service teachers had difficulty in spatial visualization about rotational objects were identified as being able to know the different names of the axes, define the rotational objects and visualize the rotational objects in different positions. Gender differences were found neither in area and volume calculation skills nor in spatial visualization skills about rotational objects. Keywords: Rotational objects, square and volume calculation, spatial visualization.