CAREER: Preparing Middle and High School Pre-service Teachers for Critical Mathematics Education

James Madison University, Harrisonburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Promoting equity-focused mathematics education requires models that will prepare and support mathematics pre-service teachers (PSTs) who will question existing norms and advocate for all their students. This project will develop a model of support for middle and high school mathematics PSTs to support them in becoming critical mathematics teachers (CMTs), teachers who address the needs of diverse students, are mindful of achievement disparities, and aware of their own biases. The main objective of the project is to develop a cohesive system of support for middle and high school PSTs to become CMTs. The objective will be achieved by supporting PSTs in their methods courses and their fieldwork. Support in fieldwork will be provided in collaboration with cooperating teachers and university supervisors through extended professional development focused on critical mathematics education, including supporting PSTs in creating lessons relevant to students' lives and introducing the cultural and historical origins of mathematical ideas. This project is supported by the Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12), which seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects.  Research activities include developing instructional materials for PSTs in their methods courses to help PSTs develop the habits of CMTs. Additionally, cooperating teachers and university supervisors will attend monthly extended professional development meetings focused on critical mathematics education. The influence of these activities will be examined via qualitative methods including interviews, observations, and artifact analysis, to understand factors needed to develop CMTs. The project adds to the current body of research on mathematics teacher education in two ways. First, it extends existing work on critical mathematics education for PreK-8 PSTs by creating instructional materials specifically designed for middle and high school methods courses, an area of need barely explored in existing research. Second, it develops an integrative model for preparing middle and high school PSTs through extended professional development. This provides dual support for tackling the problem of discrepancies between PSTs’ classroom and fieldwork experience, specific to critical mathematics education. 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.