The Boston University Elementary Preservice Teachers Mathematics (EMP) Project Phase II builds on the outcomes of the NSF funded EMP project (CCLI #0837349, 2009-2011) and is extending the project to provide enhanced pedagogical support for faculty who are using the EMP materials with undergraduates. Five instructional units (30 lessons) for use in undergraduate mathematics content courses for elementary teachers were developed, tested and revised in Phase I. The present project has three goals: to investigate the feasibility of implementing and the resultant impact of three of the EMP instructional units (fractions, number theory and geometric measurement) in building pre-service teachers' knowledge of mathematics; to develop accompanying multimedia-based support materials for instructors focused on how to use discourse and arguments to build students' knowledge; and to investigate the promise of the multimedia support materials in terms of instructors' abilities to assist PSTs in understanding mathematics content for teaching.
Multi-media support materials for faculty (video clips, interactive presentations, web-based resources) that support a discourse/argumentation approach to teaching are being developed. The project is employing a research design that compares groups of faculty and PSTs (Preservice Teachers) at over 20 different institutions on the effects of the three modules with respect to building undergraduates' mathematical content knowledge for teaching. Different groups are accessing the instructor support materials that either do or do not include the multi-media resources. The project is using a research-based design and builds on prior work. It integrates the knowledge about the beliefs, attitudes, and mathematical backgrounds of preservice elementary teachers with an understanding of the needs of K-5 public education in mathematics. The project contributes to theory and research on the role of specialized content knowledge and discourse in preservice elementary content courses. Finally, it produces an innovative model and materials to support faculty in teaching mathematics courses for elementary education preservice teachers.
The project will contribute to the improvement of mathematics education by providing materials for teacher preparation programs and by supporting faculty members to help them implement the materials as designed. The research outcomes will contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the mathematical preparation of elementary school teachers. This project provides many faculty members responsible for preparing elementary teachers (e.g., mathematicians and teacher educators) with access to a wide array of innovative instructional materials and directions on how best to use them.
