Investigation of the teacher's role in the argumentation process of preservice mathematics teachers

The aim of this study is to examine the argument structures developed by preservice elementary mathematics teachers during activities on the classification of quadrilaterals conducted as part of their coursework, within the framework of Toulmin's Argumentation Model, and to reveal the teacher's role in this process. The study was carried out with preservice teachers who took the "Communication in Mathematics Classrooms" course at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University during the 2021–2023 academic years. Designed as a qualitative study, data were collected through video recordings of classroom discussions, the transcripts of these recordings, and student discourse. Approximately 17 hours of online lesson recordings were analyzed using content analysis, and the coding process was based on the core components of Toulmin's model: claim, data, warrant, backing, rebuttal, and qualifier. The research process was conducted in two stages: (1) a natural discussion phase without instructor intervention, and (2) a structured phase in which the instructor actively participated by posing guiding questions. The findings indicate that the instructor's guiding questions contributed to the emergence of different argument components in the discussions and strengthened the transitions between these components. The results highlight the importance of the instructor's position in classroom interactions and the types of questions used in the teacher education process.