Students studying in the Elementary Mathematics Teaching Undergraduate Program learn scientific research processes theoretically and practically by taking EDS 403: Scientific Research Experience I and EDS 404: Scientific Research Experience II courses.
The Scope of "Scientific Research Experience I":
At MEF Faculty of Education, there is a "Scientific Research Experience I" course that must be taken in the third year spring semester. The theoretical information required for a scientific research is given to teacher candidates under the guidance of academicians for 14 weeks (1 semester). In the Department of Elementary Mathematics Teaching, this course starts with library education. In the seminar given by the university librarian, a comprehensive and practical explanation is given on topics such as how to scan resources, which databases are related to which fields, and what to pay attention to when quoting and referencing. In the following weeks, studies are carried out on topics such as educational research, research types, methods and techniques, determining the research problem, finding a research article and analyzing each section in the article, literature review, and preparing a research plan.
The Scope of "Scientific Research Experience II":
At MEF Faculty of Education, there is a "Scientific Research Experience II" course that must be taken in the fourth year fall semester. This course is a continuation of the "Scientific Research Experience I" course. During 14 weeks (1 semester), teacher candidates try to complete their research. Teacher candidates collect data about their subjects and analyze them. Then they start writing articles. During this process, there are also department academics who advise each teacher candidate. Academicians hold weekly meetings with teacher candidates and give feedback to teacher candidates about the progress of the work. The meeting process continues throughout the fall semester. Presentations of the works whose writing phase is completed are prepared. Studies prepared by teacher candidates are presented at different conferences at home and abroad. Some teacher candidates continue their research to have their work published and can get their article published by submitting their work to different journals. At this stage, department academics continue to provide consultancy.