One of the most urgent problems in U.S. education is how to provide more effective teaching in school mathematics. A major question facing Schools of Education today is whether and how their teacher preparation programs matter in addressing this problem. The field lacks research that would inform teacher educators and policy makers about critical variables in mathematics teacher preparation that influence the nature of beginning teachers' practices and the quality of students' learning. This project, funded through the Research on Education and Learning program, builds on empirical evidence that K-8 teacher preparation in mathematics can make a substantial difference in the nature and depth of graduates' knowledge and skills for teaching as well as their actual teaching practices. The researchers will study the links among details of K-8 mathematics teacher preparation, the nature and quality of graduates' classroom teaching, and the nature of their students' learning. Using a longitudinal design following a cohort of teachers as they transition from mathematics teacher preparation into their first two years of classroom teaching, the project will identify the details of the preparation program that enable effective classroom mathematics teaching and influence students' learning.
This project will contribute to (1) refined theory that connects mathematics teacher preparation, teaching practice, and student learning, and (2) empirical data that test key hypotheses regarding the links among these variables. Hypotheses to be tested include: (a) instructional approaches used in teacher preparation that help prospective teachers acquire conceptual understanding of both mathematics and pedagogy similar to those used to help develop conceptual understanding of mathematics influence the nature of beginning teachers' instructional practice; (b) a focus on unpacking the mathematics into usable knowledge through, for example, multiple representations of problems and solution methods, will yield detectable improvements in graduates' teaching and their students' learning; and (c) a threshold of intensity in studying a mathematical topic is needed for prospective teachers to internalize and then later use this knowledge to plan and implement high quality lessons on the topic. This longitudinal study will follow all seniors in an undergraduate teacher preparation program, approximately 120 preservice teachers, into their first years of teaching. Using a combination of surveys, classroom observations, and measures of student achievement, the project will test the hypotheses using a mixed method study combining case studies and quasi-experimental tests of impact.
