CAREER: Learning to Learn from Mathematics Teaching

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The main goal of this project is to determine through a redesigned pre-service mathematics methods course how prospective elementary teachers become serious learners about teaching of mathematics and student learning of mathematics. Research Questions - Phase I (Teacher education program) 1) Are treatment and control interventions implemented as intended during both years of the experiment? 2) Do treatment-group pre-service teachers' beliefs about mathematics and mathematics learning change to a larger extent than control-group pre-service teachers' beliefs? 3) Are treatment-group pre-service teachers better able to analyze a lesson taught by others? 4) Are treatment-group pre-service teachers better able to plan, teach, and reflect on their mathematics teaching than pre-service teachers in the control group? 5) Do treatment-group pre-service teachers feel better prepared to teach mathematics than control group pre-service teachers? 6) To what extent do various characteristics of fieldwork and student-teaching experiences impact pre-service teachers' learning from treatment and control instruction? Research Questions - Phase II (Longitudinal study) 1) Is retention during the first three years of teaching higher for treatment than for control-group teachers? If participants decide to leave the profession, what are the reasons behind that decision? 2) Do treatment-group pre-service teachers feel better prepared to teach mathematics during their first three years of teaching than pre-service teachers in the control group? 3) Do treatment-group pre-service teachers exhibit better quality of mathematics instruction than pre-service teachers in the control group? 4) Do treatment-group pre-service teachers more frequently seek opportunities to engage in professional practices that focus on improving mathematics teaching, compared to control-group pre-service teachers? Do they more often assume (whether formally or informally) leadership roles that promote practice-based approaches to professional development? 5) What external factors (e.g., school leadership, available professional development opportunities) during the first three years of teaching support or hinder teachers' adoption of professional practices focusing on improving instruction? The work will be done at the teacher education program at University of California-Irvine and surrounding school districts. The participants in the study will be pre-service teachers in the 5th year program. These teachers will be followed through their third year of teaching. The main STEM field is mathematics. A randomized controlled experiment with a replication group will be conducted over four years that will compare what happens in their first three years of teaching by teachers who have used the Learning to Learn from Mathematics Teaching (LLMT) curriculum. Multiple measures will be used including fidelity of implementation (observations of mathematics methods course); beliefs survey; video-based analysis of a lesson; content and pedagogical content knowledge survey; survey on fieldwork and student teaching experience; retention-in-teaching rates over three years following 5th year program, teacher sense of efficacy scale; and classroom observations (for a sub-sample of participants). Two years of students who are in the 5th year teacher education program will participate in the study. In the first year 90 students will be randomly assigned to the regular methods course or the course with the LLMT incorporated. A second group of 90 students will be included in the study the next year. With the two cohorts of students there will be a pooled sample of 90 in the treatment group and 90 in the control group. In addition, each year, four participants, two from the treatment and two from the control group will be chosen to represent variation in contexts of fieldwork and student teaching experiences. These participants will be followed through the first three years of their teaching career. Case studies will include school and classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The evaluation will be done by the advisory board. The assessment findings will provide evidence of the efficacy. The main outcomes and impacts will be the evidence on a specific approach to have elementary teachers to become more effective in attending to student learning when teaching mathematics. The project has the potential to have the greatest impact on the 90 pre-service teachers who will receive instruction using the LLMT. Their students will be the beneficiaries. More impactful will be the dissemination of LLMT to be used in other teacher education programs and the knowledge gained from the study that can be used to shape other teacher education programs. Graduate students who work on the program will also benefit from engaging in the research study including data gathering and analysis.