A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of K-8 Mathematics Teacher Preparation on Teacher Knowledge, Teaching Practices, and Student Learning

University Of Delaware, Newark DE

Investigators

Abstract

The five-year project seeks to: (1) refine a developing theory of teacher preparation; (2) examine empirically the relationships among teacher preparation, teacher learning, teaching practice, and student learning; and (3) understand the conditions under which teachers use the knowledge and skills acquired during preparation and during their first few years of teaching to improve their practice. Utilizing a longitudinal design and following two cohorts of teachers as they transition from mathematics teacher preparation programs into classroom teaching, the project will study how preparation programs, field conditions, and selected contextual variables affect the implementation of effective classroom mathematics teaching. Research methods will include a planned mix of controlled experiments, small-sample replications, and case studies. Data collection will include both large-sample written assessments and small-sample recurring observations and interviews. By focusing on selected rational number topics and the middle grades 7-8, researchers will compare the effects of two different preparation programs, one designed for elementary/middle school (grades K-8) and the other for secondary school (grades 7-12). The project addresses the fundamental issue of how teachers can be taught to teach effectively from the preservice to the inservice stage. Its longitudinal aspect involves documenting growth in effective mathematics teaching from the time participants are in schools as preservice undergraduate education majors to many years after when they are in schools as professional, inservice mathematics teachers. The project takes the view that effective mathematics teaching in the schools does not only require strengthening teachers' mathematics content but also addressing ways in which they can be supported in dealing with contextual variables (institutional constraints) that either hinder or support effective implementation of effective teaching practices. The project also addresses the following controversial issue facing mathematics teacher education research today: Does having more mathematics content (in the case of secondary mathematics majors) than mathematical content knowledge for teaching mathematics (in the case of elementary and middle school majors) a sufficient condition for effectively teaching mathematics (and vice-versa), in particular, fractions?