scholarly journals How Preservice Teachers Make Meaning of Mathematics Methods Texts

Author(s):  
Shelly Sheats Harkness ◽  
Amy Brass
Author(s):  
Emily C. Bouck ◽  
Phil Sands ◽  
Holly Long ◽  
Aman Yadav

Increasingly in K–12 schools, students are gaining access to computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS). This access, however, is not always extended to students with disabilities. One way to increase CT and CS (CT/CS) exposure for students with disabilities is through preparing special education teachers to do so. In this study, researchers explore exposing special education preservice teachers to the ideas of CT/CS in the context of a mathematics methods course for students with disabilities or those at risk of disability. Through analyzing lesson plans and reflections from 31 preservice special education teachers, the researchers learned that overall emerging promise exists with regard to the limited exposure of preservice special education teachers to CT/CS in mathematics. Specifically, preservice teachers demonstrated the ability to include CT/CS in math lesson plans and showed understanding of how CT/CS might enhance instruction with students with disabilities via reflections on these lessons. The researchers, however, also found a need for increased experiences and opportunities for preservice special education teachers with CT/CS to more positively impact access for students with disabilities.


Author(s):  
Drew Polly

This chapter presents the theoretical background and overview of the design of an asynchronous online mathematics pedagogy course taken by graduate students who are seeking their initial teacher certification. The authors provide the theoretical underpinnings for the design of the course, and then using design-based research, describe the refinement of the course over three iterations of designing and implementing the course. Lastly, implications for the design and delivery of asynchronous online courses are discussed.


Author(s):  
Mary Grassetti ◽  
Silvy Brookby

The Standards for Mathematical Practice as delineated in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics describe the processes, proficiencies, and habits of mind that students are expected to develop through their engagement with mathematics (Dacey & Polly, 2012). The purpose of this chapter is to discuss, anecdotally, how the iPad, a tablet computer designed by Apple ™, can be used to develop preservice teachers’ understanding and implementation of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, most specifically Mathematical Practice Standard 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Under examination are the authors’ experiences using the iPad as an observational tool during student teaching and as a teaching tool in their mathematics methods courses. The chapter concludes with suggestions for additional uses of the iPad to support preservice teachers as they work to develop their understanding of the Standards for Mathematical Practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-42
Author(s):  
Shuhua An

PurposeThis study intended to provide such an opportunity to preservice teachers with a project-based learning (PBL) approach and an inquiry-based pedagogy to engage them in learning science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and skills of integration with adding an art component to STEM as science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) for K-8 children, and developing their own STEAM tasks. The purpose of this project was to explore how STEAM integration in mathematics methods courses influenced K-8 preservice teachers' disposition and knowledge of STEAM integration.Design/methodology/approachThis project used a mixed-research design in data collection and analysis to examine the effects of using the STEAM integration on preservice teachers' knowledge and disposition. The preservice teachers in two EDEL 462 classes in Spring 2019 participated in STEAM learning and development in the inquiry process of four steps of STEAM integration. Data collection includes the pre- and postquestionnaires on teachers' knowledge and disposition.FindingsThe results in this study show that the STEAM integration in the mathematics methods courses engaged preservice teachers in four steps of the inquiry process of connection, collaboration, communication and evaluation for STEAM integration using PBL approach. The preservice teachers not only enhanced their disposition in attitude and confidence but also enhanced their knowledge of STEAM integration.Research limitations/implicationsThe following conclusions can be drawn from the present study that integrating STEAM components in mathematics methods fosters preservice teachers' creativity, connection, communication, application and teamwork skills, and importantly, it enhances K-8 preservice teachers' productive dispositions and knowledge in STEAM integration.Practical implicationsThe results of this study indicate that using math methods courses to engage preservice teachers in learning STEAM integration and designing authentic STEAM tasks in four steps enhanced preservice teachers' attitude and confidence that significantly related to their knowledge of STEAM integration.Originality/valueThese findings have significant implications for the understanding of how to prepare future teachers in STEAM integration in higher education.


Author(s):  
Jean Morrow ◽  
Janet Holland

This chapter introduces conversation theory as a means of creating an active learning environment in an elementary mathematics methods course. It argues that such an environment, designed for undergraduate candidates in teacher education, will engage the learners in the task of developing deep conceptual understanding to support and give rationale to the procedural knowledge most of them already have. Furthermore, the authors hope that an understanding of conversation theory as applied to teaching mathematics will help instructors and instructional designers to facilitate preservice teachers’ engagement in reaching a deep conceptual understanding of the mathematics they are preparing to teach.


2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 384-389
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Carnell ◽  
Mariann W. Tillery

How a three-week module was inserted into an elementary mathematics methods course in order to demonstrate co-teaching models for preservice teachers and to provide preservice teachers with instructional strategies for special needs students.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-159
Author(s):  
Charmaine Mangram ◽  
Kathy Liu Sun

The pervasiveness of digital technology creates an imperative for mathematics teacher educators to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) to select technology to support students’ mathematical development. We report on research conducted on an assignment created for and implemented in secondary mathematics methods courses requiring PSTs to select and evaluate digital mathematics tools. We found that PSTs primarily focused on pedagogical fidelity (ease of use), did not consider mathematical fidelity (accuracy), and at times superficially attended to cognitive fidelity (how well the tool reflects students’ mathematical thinking processes) operationalized as the CCSS for Mathematical Practice and Five Strands of Mathematical Proficiency. We discuss implications for implementing the assignment and suggestions for addressing PSTs’ challenges with identifying the mathematical practices and five strands.


2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-118
Author(s):  
Alfinio Flores ◽  
Carmina Brittain

For more than a decade, several authors have highlighted the benefits to students of writing to learn mathematics. Writing is an important component of communication in the classroom. As Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 2000) notes, “Writing in mathematics can also help students consolidate their thinking because it requires them to reflect on their work and clarify their thoughts about the ideas developed in the lesson” (p. 61). Teachers probably will not use this tool, however, unless they have had the experience themselves of writing in relation to mathematics. This article presents a brief review of the benefits of students writing to learn mathematics. In the second part of the article, we invite the reader to consider another possible use of writing: as a tool to help preservice teachers reflect on their own growth as they learn to teach mathematics. We discuss some of the benefits that writing has for prospective teachers and present examples of preservice elementary teachers' writing that were collected in several one-semester undergraduate mathematics methods courses that the first author taught. The second author participated as a student in one of the courses. In a second article to be published in this journal, we will focus on the process of writing and writing for an audience.


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