An Extensive Analysis of Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge of Fractions

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 1080-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristie Jones Newton
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Extensive Analysis ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Solution Methods ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Computational Skill

The study of preservice elementary teachers’ knowledge of fractions is important because fractions are notoriously difficult to learn and teach. Unfortunately, studies of preservice teachers’ fraction knowledge are limited and have focused primarily on division. The present study included all four operations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this knowledge. Because knowledge is complex, it was examined in five ways: computational skill, basic concepts, word problems, flexibility, and transfer. To further capture the complexity of knowledge, solution methods were examined for patterns that might reveal understandings and misconceptions. Data were gathered before and after a course designed to deepen preservice teachers’ knowledge. Quantitative and qualitative shifts occurred during the semester, but flexibility and transfer were low. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Preservice Elementary Teachers and Music in the Elementary Classroom

2021 ◽  
pp. 875512332110525
Author(s):  
Jennifer Potter
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Elementary Classroom ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Music Teaching ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Music Integration ◽  
Elementary Preservice Teachers ◽  
Online Music ◽  
N 93

The purpose of this pretest-posttest study was to investigate elementary preservice teachers’ perceptions of and level of comfort with music in the elementary classroom after enrolling in an online music integration course. Participants were preservice elementary teachers ( N = 93) enrolled in three sections of an online music integration course at a large university in Southern California. Results showed significant differences in participants’ agreement with aspects of music teaching, comfort with music, and music integration. Findings also indicated significant differences in participants’ rankings of musical outcomes in an elementary setting. There were no significant differences found among participants’ ranking of music and other subjects in the elementary classroom.

The Transference Between Elementary Preservice Teachers' Courses and Technology Use in Teaching

2018 ◽  
pp. 1459-1489
Author(s):  
Debra R. Sprague ◽  
Maria Katradis
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Elementary Preservice Teachers ◽  
Integrate Technology

This mixed-method study explored a cohort of 18 preservice elementary teachers' perceptions of technology and their abilities to integrate technology in their teaching. Data sources included blog postings, a confidence survey, lessons plans and observations. Results showed a disconnect between the blog postings and confidence survey (their perceptions) and their lessons plans and observations (their abilities). Five case studies were examined, using the TPACK framework, to determine where the disconnect was occurring. Although Technical Knowledge seemed to be an issue for some, the majority of the preservice teachers struggled with Pedagogical Knowledge. Suggestions for how to address this issue are included. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of moon phases before and after instruction

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 633-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Cabe Trundle ◽  
Ronald K. Atwood ◽  
John E. Christopher
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Moon Phases ◽  
Before And After

Preservice Elementary Teachers: Building Portfolios Around Students' Writings

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 308-313
Author(s):  
Patricia Pokay ◽  
Carla Tayeh
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Portfolio Assessment ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
College Mathematics ◽  
Mathematics Courses ◽  
Lecture Format ◽  
Mathematics Course

Traditionally, college mathematics courses have rarely asked students to write or to reflect on their learning, concentrating instead on textbook exercises and problem sets in a lecture format. The intent of this study was to model the use of portfolio assessment in a college mathematics course for preservice teachers while focusing on the contributions of the students' writing in the mathematics classroom. In the study, portfolios were the vehicle for organizing the students' writings.

scholarly journals How Do Sources of Self-Efficacy Predict Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs Related to Constructivist and Traditional Approaches to Teaching and Learning?

SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401988512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Cansiz ◽  
Nurcan Cansiz
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Constructivist Teaching ◽  
Teaching Beliefs ◽  
State University ◽  
Mastery Experience ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Guided by Bandura’s theoretical construct of self-efficacy, in this study, we attempted to model the relationship between preservice elementary teachers’ sources of self-efficacy and their constructivist, and traditional beliefs related to teaching and learning by multiple linear regression analyses. Participants consist of 151 preservice elementary teachers at a state university. Results indicated that while mastery experience is significantly contributed to preservice elementary teachers’ constructivist teaching beliefs, physiological/emotional state made a statistically significant contribution to their traditional teaching beliefs. These results suggested that preservice elementary teachers hold more constructivist teaching beliefs as they gain experience with teaching based on the constructivist approach. Moreover, when preservice teachers have high anxiety, fear, or stress, they tend to be more traditional-oriented. The implications were discussed in terms of teacher education programs.

The Transference between Elementary Preservice Teachers' Courses and Technology Use in Teaching

2015 ◽  
pp. 108-134
Author(s):  
Debra R. Sprague ◽  
Maria Katradis
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Elementary Preservice Teachers ◽  
Integrate Technology

This mixed-method study explored a cohort of 18 preservice elementary teachers' perceptions of technology and their abilities to integrate technology in their teaching. Data sources included blog postings, a confidence survey, lessons plans and observations. Results showed a disconnect between the blog postings and confidence survey (their perceptions) and their lessons plans and observations (their abilities). Five case studies were examined, using the TPACK framework, to determine where the disconnect was occurring. Although Technical Knowledge seemed to be an issue for some, the majority of the preservice teachers struggled with Pedagogical Knowledge. Suggestions for how to address this issue are included. Implications for teacher education are discussed.

Challenging Preservice Elementary Teachers' Image of Rectangles

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Gayle Millsaps
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Elementary School Teachers ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Class Inclusion ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
Concept Images ◽  
Mathematics Community

Preservice elementary school teachers (PSTs) often have difficulty understanding hierarchical (i.e., class inclusion) relationships between geometric shapes. In particular, PSTs' predisposition to place squares and rectangles in separate categories can be attributed to their concept images. Although the larger mathematics community prefers the hierarchical definitions of special quadrilaterals, the concept images of special quadrilaterals such as squares and rectangles that PSTs develop in their early experiences contribute to a preference for partitional definitions. This study examines the benefits and limitations of using the Shape Makers curriculum unit to modify preservice teachers' concept images and their definitions of special quadrilaterals.

Research, Reflection, Practice: Writing to Reflect in a Mathematics Methods Course

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-118
Author(s):  
Alfinio Flores ◽  
Carmina Brittain
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Writing To Learn ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Mathematics Methods ◽  
Methods Courses ◽  
Mathematics Methods Course ◽  
Principles And Standards

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.

Using Simulated Teaching Experiences to Perturb Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Questioning Practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey Webel ◽  
Kimberly Anne Conner
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Mathematical Thinking ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Teacher Questions ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Web Based

In this article, we report on efforts to develop a set of Web-based teaching simulations within the LessonSketch platform to support shifts in how preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) enact and evaluate their questioning practices in response to specific examples of students' mathematical thinking. The simulations included storyboard depictions of classroom situations, along with prompts for the PSTs to first analyze mathematical thinking and then construct, select, and analyze the effects of possible teacher questions. Participants included 54 PSTs across 5 sections of a mathematics content/methods class. Data were analyzed to document how PSTs enacted and reflected on their questioning practices in the context of these LessonSketch simulations. In this article, we focus on 2 storyboard depictions of classroom situations and describe how each appeared to provide different opportunities for PSTs to revise their ideas about questioning.

scholarly journals The Emphasis of Inquiry Instructional Strategies: Impact on Preservice Teachers’ Mathematics Efficacy

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista L. Althauser
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Elementary Teachers ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Preservice Elementary Teachers ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Instructional Format ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Significant Difference

Using a Mixed Methods approach, this study investigated changes in levels of self-efficacy among elementary preservice teachers following a semester course on teaching elementary students’ mathematics. Participants in this study included 347 preservice elementary teachers at a mid-size regional university who had just completed an elementary mathematics methods course. The data were collected from several semester groups. The instruments used were the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument, interview data, and observation data collected during the clinical experience. The focus of this study was to compare the changes in teacher self-efficacy following a methods course that emphasized hands-on mathematics instruction with manipulatives by means of the 5E instructional format. The results of the paired-samples t-test indicated that there was a significant difference in the preservice elementary teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching mathematics after engaging in the elementary methods course. Preservice teachers reported that their understanding of various instructional practices changed significantly from a “tell, show, and do” model to an approach utilizing interactive and engaging activities. They also reported that their attitude toward mathematics had improved significantly and that there had been a direct impact on their confidence for teaching mathematics as a result of the structure of the elementary math methods course.

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