An investigation of how records of practice support primary school teachers' content knowledge on length and area measurement

The aim of the present study is to examine the effect of the practice schedules developed in a study conducted on the field of professional development with primary school teachers on learning processes. Accordingly, how the practice schedules developed in a study on professional development funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Group (SOBAG) have contributed to teachers' knowledge was investigated in detail. The study designed with a case study, one of the qualitative research approaches, was conducted with the participation of ten primary school teachers working in a province in the Mediterranean region. The participants were selected using the method of criterion sampling. A pilot implementation of the study on professional development was conducted with three teachers between 2018 and 2019 and its full-scale introduction was performed with seven teachers between 2019 and 2020. The full-scale study was conducted between two groups where the subjects of length and area measurement were studied. Discussions and teacher statements during the implementation of the practice schedules prepared for the professional development study in practice sessions were considered as data. Another source of data related to the study was the learning materials that teachers prepared and used in their own classrooms. The data collected considering the teachers' opinions and practices were analyzed using the technique of descriptive analysis in an attempt to set forth the changes in the teachers' knowledge of their fields of study elaborately. According to the results obtained, it was found that the practice schedules contributed to the teachers' knowledge of their field of study and improved their classroom practices. It was indicated that the teachers were enabled to notice the shortcomings in classroom practices and develop novel applications thanks to the practice schedules. Teachers noticed both their inadequacies regarding their knowledge of the field and the mistaken applications in the classroom, which allowed them to correct their deficiencies. In the light of these findings, it is obvious that the practice schedules and the evaluations for the implementation of these schedules have considerably contributed to teachers' professional development. Keywords: Professional development, practice schedules, length measurement, area measurement.