Perspectives of prospective elementary school teachers on feedback in the Mathematics Instruction I and II courses

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine prospective elementary teachers' views on the feedback provided by the instructor and their peers during the courses, Mathematics Instruction I and II, and its contribution to their learning. Forty participants were regularly given feedback by the instructor and their peers while they were taking Mathematics Instruction I and II in the 2013-2014 academic year. At the end of the academic year, a survey form was administered to them. The form contained open-ended questions designed for this study. The form contained open-ended questions designed for this study. The data, which were analyzed qualitatively, showed that prospective elementary teachers consider the feedback provided by the instructor as mostly descriptive, whereas the peer feedback as mostly evaluative. In addition, the former made a more positive contribution to the participants' performance, since it offered more guidance.