Refocusing teacher preparation on the practice of teaching calls for new and different knowledge and skill. We describe the types of knowledge and skill that teacher educators need in order to teach a practice-focused mathematics methods course and report on one program's exploration of possible supports to develop this knowledge in teacher…

The researchers of this hermeneutic phenomenological study applied Colaizzi's (1978) method to analyze and interpret English Language Arts (ELA) teacher candidates' (TC) learning experiences with literacy quadrants and narratives while attending secondary writing instruction methods courses in diverse institutional settings. Qualitative strategies…

Professional biographies of US-American nursing staff emphasize that these staff have consciously decided to conduct research for a Ph.D. in Adult Education instead of Nursing Sciences. The evaluation of the interview transcripts revealed two main categories: "Doctoral degree as an expression of a 'lived' lifelong learning" and…

This paper explores the use of animations as an approximation of practice to provide a transformational technology experience for elementary mathematics preservice teachers. Preservice teachers in mathematics methods courses at six universities (n = 126) engaged in a practice of decomposing and approximating components of a fraction lesson. Data…

Mathematics teacher education is faced with the challenge of preparing new teachers for ambitious instruction, but we have limited understandings of what happens within the courses where this preparation occurs. This paper draws on interview data from of a larger investigation of novices' enactment of ambitious instruction in elementary…

This paper represents research that exists at the crossroad of scholarly practice and scholarly inquiry. We share the design, enactment and empirical examination of an elementary methods course activity, Exploring and Supporting Student Thinking (ESST) which engaged 18 prospective teachers in two sessions of one on one problem posing with 3rd…

Framed by occupational socialization theory (Lawson, 1986), the purpose of this research was to examine perspectives of one university faculty member, eleven pre-service teachers and two cooperating teachers while enacting two clinically rich methods courses in a physical education teacher education program. We analyzed the data (researcher notes,…

Most teacher preparation programs require prospective teachers (PTs) to engage in early field experiences (EFEs) prior to completing required coursework. These EFEs, however, may lack meaningful connections to course content and provide limited opportunities to experience the demands of classroom teaching. In this paper, we share evidence from the…

Amid the implementation of new curriculum standard regarding statistics and new recommendations for preservice secondary mathematics teachers [PSMTs] to teach statistics, there is a need to examine the current state of PSMTs' common statistical knowledge. This study reports on the statistical knowledge 217 PSMTs from a purposeful sample of 18…

This study investigated how pre-service teachers' fractional concepts are related to solving problems involving advanced fractional knowledge. 96 Participants took a written test including three fractions questions about fraction concept, fraction comparison, and multiplicative relationship involving fraction quantities and composite units. The…

We investigated how pre-service and first-year teachers engaged with the pedagogy textbooks from their mathematics methods courses. Sixteen participants--seven pre-service teachers and nine first-year teachers--were interviewed about their interactions with mathematics methods texts and their perceptions about the texts. This paper focuses on…

New reforms envision ambitious science teaching, which requires a set of knowledge and abilities beginning teachers may not have. To support learning to teach, a practice-based approach has been suggested. This study examines the pathways of four preservice teachers' learning of one science teaching practice, "supporting students to construct…

As a profession, we must have a shift in both perspective and practice to transform teaching at all levels. Are pre-service education classrooms preparing students to be flexible, adapt to new situations, and rely on their own expertise and understanding while seeking support when needed? Lieberman and Miller (2004) identify the following shifts…

This study examined pre-service elementary teachers' change in their understanding of fraction operations while taking a mathematics methods course. Specifically, their explanations and justifications for common algorithms for multiplication and division of fractions were coded using an existing framework (SOLO; Biggs, 1999) for the assessment of…

This study investigated the effect of different aspects of mathematics knowledge for teaching on performance in upper elementary mathematics methods courses. In the Ontario (Canada) context, prospective teachers have been, until the 2015-2016 school year, able to obtain a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree in as little as eight months after a…