En/countering Inclusive Mathematics Education: A Case of Professional Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Tan ◽  
Kathleen King Thorius
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Learning ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Teacher Professional

Despite the push for inclusive mathematics education, students with disabilities continue to lack access to, and achievement in, rich mathematics learning opportunities. We assert that mathematics teacher educators have a central role in addressing these contradictions. This role includes enacting facilitative moves during mathematics teacher professional learning to encounter and counter social forces, which we denote in this article as en/counters. As part of a larger study, we explored the extent to which the use of an inclusive education-oriented tool, developed and introduced during a teacher learning program, elicited en/counters that mediated participants' learning toward inclusive mathematics education. We discuss shifts in participants' conversational content and focus on surrounding practices that involved students with disabilities and features of the tool and processes that supported these shifts, including specific facilitative moves that helped redirect deficit-focused conversations.

When Mathematics Teacher Educators Come Under Attack

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-74
Author(s):  
Rochelle Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Professional Organizations ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Educators ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The One ◽  
Historical Moment

We are in an interesting historical moment in mathematics teacher education. On the one and, there is greater realization within our field of the connections between systems of power and mathematics (O'Neil, 2016). We are starting to acknowledge how mathematics education can be viewed as dehumanizing for both students and teachers as well as what might constitute rehumanizing practices (Gutiérrez, in press). Our professional organizations are calling for teachers to move beyond simplistic notions of equity to understand these power dimensions and challenge the system on behalf of (and in community with) Black,1 Indigenous,2 and Latinx3 students in particular

Promoting Active Learning in Mathematics Teacher Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 269-284
Author(s):  
Rukiye Didem Taylan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Pedagogical Content

Teacher educators have a responsibility to help prospective teachers in their professional growth. It is important that teacher educators not only teach prospective teachers about benefits of active learning in student learning, but that they also prepare future teachers in using pedagogical methods aligned with active learning principles. This manuscript provides examples of how mathematics teacher educators can promote prospective teachers' active learning and professional growth by bringing together the Flipped Classroom method with video content on teaching and learning as well as workplace learning opportunities in a pedagogy course. The professional learning of prospective teachers is framed according to the components of the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Park & Olive, 2008; Shulman, 1986). Implications for future trends in teacher education are provided.

Arranging and Rearranging Practice in Digital Spaces

2018 ◽  
pp. 567-585
Author(s):  
Laurette S. M. Bristol ◽  
Merilyn Childs
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Curriculum Decisions

The study that formed the basis of this chapter aimed to understand the practices mediating the quality of an online learning program from the perspective of educators in transition from face-to-face to online learning and teaching. A narrative community of enquiry was established for the period of the study, and seven academics from a single institution volunteered to participate in a six-month conversation about the sites for practice, challenges and curriculum decisions made while teaching online. A “practice architectures” perspective was adopted. The study found that “designing and redesigning” was not limited as supposed to a single transformation from face-to-face teaching to an online learning space. Rather, it was an ongoing professional practice, regardless of how novice or experienced and “tech savvy” the academic. The digital space is rapidly evolving, as are the professional learning demands of teacher educators. “Ambitious teacher practices” are permanently required.

scholarly journals Views of Inclusive Education From the Perspectives of Preservice and Mentor Teachers

Inclusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-202
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Kurth ◽  
Anjali Forber-Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
General Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
School Experiences ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Inclusive Practices ◽  
Barriers To Implementation

Abstract The trend of educating students with disabilities in inclusive general education settings is expanding. Consequently, teacher preparation for inclusive practices is a necessary consideration for teacher educators. An important component of shaping preservice teacher dispositions comes from school experiences and interactions with mentor teachers. It is through this relationship that preservice teachers formulate their own attitudes, beliefs, and skills about inclusive practices. This article reports the findings from a set of surveys containing both closed- and open-ended responses related to inclusive education from both preservice (student) and mentor teachers. Analysis of the open-ended responses revealed definitions of inclusive education focused on student deficits and barriers to implementation of inclusive practices that focused on deficits in the capacity of the environment. Implications for teacher preparation, including challenging deficit-based assumptions, are discussed.

Teacher Education and Inclusivity

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Alvarado ◽  
Sarah M. Salinas ◽  
Alfredo J. Artiles
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Learning Differences ◽  
Access To Books ◽  
Formative Experiences

Inclusive teacher education (ITE) defines the professional training of preservice teachers to work in learning spaces encompassing students from all circumstances, regardless of race, linguistic background, gender, socioeconomic status, and special education needs (SEN). This preparation includes the content, pedagogy, and formative experiences required for teachers to work in inclusive schools. To fully understand ITE, it is necessary to examine what is meant by inclusive education (IE). Indeed, it is essential to explore ITE’s definition since scholars and teacher educators have struggled to agree on what is meant by IE. In addition to disagreements about IE’s definition, support for this idea and its implementation may vary due to the cultural, historical, and political differences specific to local contexts. For these reasons, it is necessary to recognize the inclusive policies, practices, and processes that often shape definitions and concepts related to ITE. Notwithstanding the ambitious meanings of ITE across the globe, researchers, professionals, and policymakers tend to emphasize a vision of teacher preparation for working with students with disabilities (SWD) or SEN. Also, there is no consensus about which particular aspects matter in teacher education programs, primarily based on ideological differences about the core goals of IE. These differences in views and beliefs have resulted in limited understandings and applications of ITE. For instance, a student with an SEN may also come from a family living in poverty, with no access to books in the home, or speak multiple languages, including languages that are not a part of their first (formal) educational experiences. In such circumstances, there is no agreement about whether ITE programs should focus on students’ linguistic, socioeconomic, learning differences, or multiple factors. We review the research on ITE in various national contexts. We also discuss how scholars have conceptualized the preparation of future teachers and the implications for greater clarity on how teacher preparation can improve IE in an increasingly diverse society.

Research and Teacher Education: In Search of Common Ground

1994 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 608-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Cooney
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
National Council ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Educators

Most mathematics educators are involved in the practice of teacher education at some level. Indeed, the field of mathematics education is predicated on the assumption that someone has to be educated to teach mathematics in our schools. This raises the question of what it means to be educated in o rder to become a teacher of mathematics. What kinds of knowledge do teachers need to become effective teachers of mathematics? What sorts of experiences are needed for teachers to acquire this knowledge? A fundamental question for mathematics teacher educators is how the field of teacher education can be conceptualized so that programs and activities can be created to assist in the acquisition of this knowledge. Given the high visibility of standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (NCTM, 1988, 1991, in press), a question of interest to many is, What does it take to develop teachers who can move the field toward realizing these standards?

What Makes Us Different Makes Us Stronger: A Statement by the MTE Editorial Board

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Board Members ◽  
National Council ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Educators ◽  
Speak Up

Editorial board members of the MTE journal join the presidents of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (the two organizations that jointly publish our journal) in expressing concern at the recent attacks on mathematics education scholars whose research does not conform with and challenges dominant perspectives in mathematics education. We are compelled to speak up because these attacks undermine the principles of academic freedom and our field's capacity to grow a trusted knowledge base.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document