Early childhood pre-service teachers' play activities prepared for the concept of pattern

This study was conducted to examine the game activities prepared by pre-service preschool teachers for the concept of patterns, analyzing them in terms of pattern type, pattern level, mode of representation, and game type. For this purpose, the research group was determined using a purposeful sampling method. The participants consisted of 53 pre-service preschool teachers studying at a state university in the Black Sea Region. This research was designed as a case study based on a qualitative research approach. Activity plans and video recordings prepared by the pre-service teachers were used as data collection instruments. The collected data were analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. According to the findings of the study, the vast majority of pre-service preschool teachers (f=51) used the repeating pattern type, while only a few (f=2) used incorrect patterns. An examination of the pattern structures revealed that the AB pattern was the most frequently preferred (f=31). In terms of pattern levels, the most chosen level was "copying a pattern" (f=32), whereas the least chosen was "finding the repeating unit" (f=2). Regarding the modes of representation for patterns, the most common was color representation (f=35), while the least used was movement representation (f=1). Finally, concerning game types, it was found that the pre-service teachers most frequently preferred competitive games (f=35), and least frequently incorporated construction play (f=1).