Examination of middle school mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in patterns' teaching at the 5th grade level

This research aims to examine the pedagogical content knowledge of middle school mathematics teachers about teaching patterns at the 5th-grade level. In this study, case study design as one of the qualitative research methods, was used. This research was carried out with teachers working in four different public middle schools located in Tokat in the first term of the 2022-2023 academic year. Four different mathematics teachers working in these schools participated in the research. The data sources of the research consist of one-to-one semi-structured interviews with teachers, lesson plans and video-recorded lesson records for teachers' pattern teaching process. In this study, mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about pattern teaching was examined in the context of content and student knowledge, curriculum knowledge, and content and teaching knowledge. The findings regarding the teachers' opinions about pattern teaching revealed that mathematics teachers knew about the place and importance of the subject of patterns in mathematics. Furthermore, the findings showed that the teachers did not know about the hierarchical order of the patterns in the mathematics curriculum (primary school-secondary school) at the primary school level, but they knew the mathematics curriculum at the middle school level. Mathematics teachers had deficiencies in preparing daily lesson plans in lesson planning and teaching processes for teaching. It has been observed that mathematics teachers take student readiness into account in the planning and teaching process. Mathematics teachers used traditional approaches both in planning and in the stages of the teaching process. They included a variety of questions, and they occasionally used multiple representations in the planning and teaching process. The findings of this study suggest that teachers should be given in-service training on the mathematics curriculum. It recommends that teachers should be given training on preparing daily plans under the guidance of relevant field experts, and prospective teachers should be given assignments and projects for comprehensive lesson plan preparation in Teaching Algebra, Teaching Numbers and Teaching Practices courses.