Development of a Learning Preference Questionnaire-Calculus: Prospective Teachers’ Preferences

Abstract

The present study sought to test the validity and reliability of the Learning Preference Questionnaire-Calculus (Haciomeroglu, 2012a) designed to determine prospective teachers’ learning preference for calculus tasks (i.e., preference for representations). The Learning Preference Questionnaire-Calculus consists of 7 items, each of which presents a calculus task algebraically and visually and requires a response on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly more algebraic than visual) to 5 (strongly more visual than algebraic). Then, we administered the LPQ-C to 131 first-year students (freshman) majoring in mathematics, science, and chemistry education at a public university in Turkey to check reliability and validity. In the second phase of the study, we collected data from 172 mathematics education majors with different undergraduate class standings. We conclude that the LPQ-C instrument reliably determines prospective teachers’ learning preferences for calculus tasks. There were no significant differences between male and female prospective teachers on learning preference for calculus tasks. Also interesting is that the prospective teachers with different class standings did not differ in learning-preference scores. The mathematics courses taken during undergraduate education did not affect their learning preferences. We advocate those prospective teachers be made aware of which representations seem to be more or less effective in terms of enhancing their learning experiences. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between learning preference and preferred mode of processing for calculus tasks.