Learning Styles of Prospective Mathematics Teachers: Kocaeli University Case

Learning is defined as changes in behaviour through repetition and experience. These changes can come in a variety of forms based on distinctive characteristics of individuals. These distinctive characteristics include intelligence, skills, personality characteristics, and learning styles. This study aims to identify learning styles of prospective teachers, and to determine whether these styles show differences by age and grade level. The study is a descriptive one, conducted in the spring semester in 2011- 2012 academic year. The study group consisted of 155 prospective teachers, 51 of whom were grade one, 46 grade two, 40 grade three, and 18 grade four students, all studying at the Kocaeli University, Education Faculty, Department of Teacher Training in Mathematics at Primary School Level. The “Kolb Learning Style Inventory” was used as the data collection tool. Percentage, frequency and chi-square were used in analysis of the data obtained as a result of the inventory. The study showed that 52.9% of the prospective teachers preferred the “converging”, and 31,61% the “diverging” learning style. It was also seen that the dominant style of learning shows differences by age and grade levels.