Giving effective instructional explanations requires a special type of pedagogical content knowledge, that is, foreseeing where students could employ different assumptions in building their understanding of a specific content. This paper proposes the importance of rehearsing instructional explanations and fine-tuning the coherence and…

Mathematical letter writing can be a mutually beneficial partnership between high schools and universities. Secondary school preservice teachers in methods courses require authentic experiences in focusing on students' mathematical thinking. High school students benefit from increased opportunities to engage in individualized tasks with personal…

If a university-school partnership is to be viewed as a mutualistic relationship, benefits should be provided not only to the preservice teachers, but to the members of the school environment as well. As a means of exemplifying how to connect the learning of students, in-service and preservice teachers, and teacher educators, this article…

One hundred fifty six participants enrolled in a mathematics methods course were involved in the study which specifically examined Mathematics Teacher Efficacy and Mathematics Anxiety in Elementary Pre-service Teachers. Data collection involved findings from the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instruments (MTEBI), Mathematics Anxiety Rating…

Sixty four preservice teachers taking a mathematics methods class for middle schools were given 3 math problems: multiply a three digit number by a two digit number; divide a whole number by a fraction; and compare the volume of two cylinders made in different ways from the same rectangular sheet. They were to a) solve them, explaining their…

This study examined pre-service teachers' responses to implementing technology into elementary mathematics lessons. Instructional Architect (IA) was the web-base technology used by the pre-service teachers. Four themes emerged from the data: (a) insights into technology, (b) struggles with technology, (c) access to the mathematics and (d) learning…

In this study, we determined the effectiveness of the inquiry-based Itakura method for mediating alternate conceptions of preservice elementary teachers (N = 38) in an integrated mathematics, science, and technology methods course. We investigated alternate conceptions in the expansion of solids due to heating. There was a significant increase in…

Helping pre-service teachers to feel competent and courageous about the mathematics they will find themselves teaching as elementary school teachers is a critical component of any math methods course. This paper addresses this aim by highlighting a process that involves pre-service teachers in creating original mathematics literature books. This…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of providing preservice teachers the opportunity to collect real data in a science methods inquiry investigation and using the data, design data displays in their mathematics methods course. The research questions focused on how preservice teachers' understandings of data displays, research…

A focus on mathematics vocabulary must be part of teachers' instructional plans to develop students' understanding of key ideas. The author presents examples from work with preservice teachers regarding two vocabulary strategies and other related activities that can be used by middle and high school mathematics teachers. (Contains 8 figures.)

This theoretical paper proposes a way to extend the partitive and measurement interpretations of whole number division to fractional contexts focusing on the issue of units. We define the unit-changing and unit-keeping interpretations for division and suggest a stronger and earlier focus on the concept of units in courses for prospective…

During 3 field experience visits, 23 elementary preservice teachers implemented mathematical problem-solving tasks with grade 3-6 gifted students. Researchers investigated what the teachers learned about gifted students regarding student characteristics, mathematical problem-solving tasks, and pedagogy. Each teacher completed a pre- and…

In this dissertation, I present my attempts at designing an elementary mathematics methods course to support prospective teachers in developing an understanding of how to teach all students in learning powerful mathematics. To do this, I introduced them to teaching mathematics for equity and social justice by discussing ways to support students'…

Combining a university methods course with math classes in an elementary school led to powerful learning experiences for the preservice teachers, the authors report. It also provided benefits for the elementary students and their teachers. This effort involved identifying and sequencing core mathematical tasks and concepts to be explored and…

As a follow up to the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) national studies of how well elementary teachers are prepared to teach reading and mathematics, NCTQ looked at preparation in both subjects in all undergraduate teacher preparation programs in Utah. This study evaluated Utah's nine undergraduate elementary teacher preparation…