An investigation on self-regulation activities of novice middle school mathematics teachers

Abstract

This study employed a qualitative research design to describe and analyze self-regulation processes (monitoring and control) of the novice middle school mathematics teachers in terms of teaching activities. The participants consisted of six mathematics teachers with five or less years of teaching experience. The data of the study were mainly collected through the observations of the lessons taught by the teachers and semi-structured interviews conducted with the teachers. The results revealed that the teachers' monitoring and control behaviors were affected by the goals they set. With regard to student-oriented monitoring, they generally focused on the cognitive development of the students. Compared to student-oriented monitoring, teaching-oriented monitoring was rarely observed. The most obvious control behaviors of the teachers were emphasizing the rules and algorithms, and taking responsibility for completing the task in challenging situations. It was also revealed that the teachers did not monitor carefully and systematically, and as a result, the mistakes they made during the teaching process were not noticed. These results highlight the need for pre-and in-service training programs that will aid in the development of monitoring and control skills in novice middle school mathematics teachers.