PRIMENA JAPANSKE STUDIJE ČASA U PRIPREMI BUDUĆIH VASPITAČA ZA IZVOĐENjE USMERENIH AKTIVNOSTI U OBLASTI RAZVOJA MATEMATIČKIH POJMOVA

Abstract

The presented study aimed to investigate the attitudes of preservice kindergarten teachers about the effects of two models of Mathematics Teaching Practicum teaching practice (Lesson Study model and traditional model of teaching practice) on the development of their professional competences to teach mathematics concepts. The quasi-experimental design with two parallel groups was used. The sample of research consisted of 49 students which were divided into control (27) and experimental group (22). The experimental group worked according to the experimental program which included the application of the Lesson Study design of teaching practice, while the control group worked in the traditional way. The results indicate that, although the students of the experimental group expressed more positive attitudes towards the usefulness of the applied model of teaching practice for the development of their profession- al competences, there was no statistically significant difference in attitudes between the two groups. As the most useful segment of the experimental program, students singled out the possibility of carrying out directed activities in a simu- lated environment and, after the evaluation, carrying out the same activity in a real environment in the kindergarten. Although the findings of the study cannot be generalized due to the small sample size, we believe that the results of this research have significance for both researchers and educators involved in teacher education preparation programmes.