Search results for: Knowledge base

Building on research on teacher noticing, this study focused on examining how mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) can support the development of prospective teachers (PSTs’) noticing key aspects of mathematics teaching and learning through a carefully constructed video analysis activity. The authors found that the views expressed in group discussions at the beginning of the semester were not static; PSTs engaged with each other and their instructor to consider the interaction among teaching, students’ perspectives, and students’ MMKB. This finding suggests that PSTs need multiple opportunities to expose and identify their fragmented awareness and to develop more informed and considered perspectives. Discussion with peers as well as input from instructors can help PSTs move toward a greater understanding of the resources available to and used by students. This study provides some understandings of PSTs’ learning through a particular form of approximation and decomposition of practice.

In this study, the authors investigate associations between Chinese elementary teaching candidates’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and their experiences in mathematics courses, mathematics methods courses, and student teaching. This study provides evidence that candidates who were exposed to greater numbers of topics in general pedagogy courses had higher levels of MKT in number and operations (N&O). The study also found that exposure in general pedagogy courses to two specific topics, classroom management and collaborative group work, was especially valuable for teaching candidates’ MKT. Finally, this study found that the extent to which a teaching candidate engages in student teaching with full responsibility for instruction was directly related to their level of MKT in N&O while the overall length of student teaching did not seem to matter.

The authors argue that teacher education programs can provide scaffolded contexts for developing teachers’ ability to critique, adapt, and design inquiry-based materials. In this paper, the authors describe a qualitative study of 17 preservice teachers enrolled in two consecutive science methods courses at a large public university on the east coast. The findings suggest that teachers improved in their ability to critique lesson plans and to suggest revisions that would make them more inquiry oriented.

As teacher educators, the authors have observed that knowledge alone does not lead to the kinds of thoughtful teaching they strive for.The authors address what is necessary, beyond traditional forms of professional knowledge, to support the development of thoughtful teachers who are responsive to students and situations. The authors provide four perspectives, each drawn from areas in which the authors conduct their research, and suggest a need to move beyond knowledge in teacher education. Their aim is to explore questions about preparing thoughtful teachers and to challenge others to do the same.