Investigation of the conceptual and processal knowledge of mathematics teacher candidates regarding the concept of integral

The aim of this research is to examine the conceptual and operational knowledge of prospective mathematics teachers about the concept of integral. For this purpose, the study group of the research consists of 30 pre-service teachers studying in the first year of the Primary Education Mathematics Teaching Program of a state university in the 2019-2020 academic year. The model of the research is qualitative research and the data were obtained from open-ended questions. The findings of the research were analyzed by content analysis. In line with the answers given, it has been observed that there are deficiencies in their conceptual and operational knowledge about understanding the concept of integral. Moreover; It is considered as difficult in teaching procedures due to formula, theorem, daily life practices and approaches to the subject, and difficulties are encountered in terms of interpretation for teacher candidates. In the last part of the study, in line with the findings and results, researchers and educators; Since the learning process of the concept of integral sheds light on teaching strategies, some suggestions are given, especially the establishment of relations between the concepts of limit-derivative-series-sequences-function and their interpretation in daily life problems and scenarios related to real life. Keywords: Concept, Integral concept, Concept definition, Conceptual knowledge, Operational knowledge