ERIC Number: EJ1319415
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Dec
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1386-4416
EISSN: N/A
One University's Story on Teacher Preparation in Elementary Mathematics: Examining Opportunities to Learn
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, v24 n6 p641-667 Dec 2021
This multi-case study examines how three elementary mathematics methods instructors, in the same teacher education program, provide their prospective teachers with learning opportunities. Qualitative data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and artifacts. The findings suggest that the instructors' beliefs associated with teaching philosophies influence both the content that prospective teachers have the opportunity to learn ("what") and the nature of the prospective teachers' opportunities to learn ("how"). Through analytic induction, three assertions were developed to understand and explicate: similarities in opportunities to learn, differences in opportunities to learn, and perceptions about the purpose of the methods courses across the three cases. Specifically, the first assertion examines how all three methods instructors focused on developing conceptual understanding and combating mathematical misconceptions for which prospective teachers most often experience opportunities to learn through representations and approximations. The second and third assertions place more emphasis on differences across the cases based upon observed instructor actions and their beliefs. This study is significant because it helps us gain a deeper understanding about prospective teachers' opportunities to learn within one teacher education program, and therefore, may point toward what can be done in the future to better prepare teachers in elementary mathematics education and the development of ambitious instruction. Additionally, this study unpacks how prospective teachers in the same teacher education program may have varying experiences and thus varied access to opportunities to learn.
Descriptors: Teacher Education Programs, Mathematics Instruction, Preservice Teachers, Concept Formation, Methods Courses, Case Studies, Educational Opportunities, Teacher Attitudes, Misconceptions, Mathematical Concepts, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Elementary School Students, Educational Philosophy, Teaching Methods, Teacher Educators
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2123/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A