Collaborative Research: Transforming Undergraduate Mathematics Teacher Preparation Programs using the Professional Development: Research, Implementation, and Evaluation Framework

The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest in high quality STEM education by establishing practices to enhance secondary mathematics teacher preparation. Teacher preparation programs are essential for long-term improvement in teacher performance and retention of effective teachers. However, current research is insufficient to support strong conclusions about the characteristics that define effective teacher preparation programs. This project proposes to study the use of a professional development framework to guide teacher preparation programs and improve teacher candidates' classroom practice. The project’s professional development framework will provide a common frame of reference for quality teaching in secondary mathematics teacher preparation across the four participating institutions. The project will support preservice teacher development through coursework, network improvement communities, and plan-do-study-act cycles. The project aims to impact more than 150 new secondary mathematics teachers and produce transformative improvement in mathematics teacher preparation programs. The participation of four institutions will enhance the generalizability of the findings to other institutions. This collaborative project involves partnerships with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (lead), Berea College, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Kentucky. The four-year project aims to structure undergraduate mathematics teacher preparation programs at these four institutions and study the use of the Professional Development: Research, Implementation, and Evaluation framework (PrimeD) to improve teacher preparation programs and teacher candidates' professional practice. Using design-based research, the project will follow a multi-group treatment-only longitudinal, triangulation mixed methods design. The study will position participants as researchers in their own classrooms to investigate well-defined problems of practice and refine their classroom innovations based on their findings. The use of network improvement communities to cycle between classroom implementation and whole group engagement is a key feature of PrimeD intended to help teacher candidates make stronger connections between field experiences and theories learned in their coursework. The project aims to explore research questions including: (i) How well does PrimeD improve program development of undergraduate teacher candidates? (ii) How well does PrimeD improve program development of undergraduate teacher candidates’ preparation to implement research-based teaching strategies? (iii) How well does PrimeD reposition stakeholders (e.g., classroom teachers, field experience supervisors, undergraduate teacher candidates, faculty) as partners, mentors, and co-learners in the program? Results of this research may provide crucial information for enhancing and transforming secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs, especially reliability and validity across programs. Results from this project are anticipated to provide a strong foundation for subsequent studies of how such teaching practices affect secondary student outcomes. The NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.