Preparing Secondary Mathematics Teachers: Focus on Modeling in Algebra

This study addressed the opportunities to learn (OTL) modeling in algebra provided to secondary mathematics pre-service teachers (PSTs). To investigate these OTL, we interviewed five instructors of required mathematics and mathematics education courses that had the potential to include opportunities for PSTs to learn algebra at three universities. We also interviewed a group of three to four PSTs at each of the universities. We coded the interview transcripts using an analytic framework developed based on related literature and policy documents. We report the similarities and differences in perspectives among instructors and PSTs related to modeling at each university, along with comparisons of OTL across universities

Analyzing Tasks to Promote Equity in Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to understand characteristics and outcomes of instructional tasks used to support preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) in learning about equity in secondary mathematics methods courses. This study focuses on five instructional tasks from four purposefully chosen teacher education programs. These activities were chosen based on instructors\u27 perceptions of instructional activities used to promote equity learning goals and outcomes. I developed a multidimensional framework to analyze and describe the nature of these tasks. All the tasks were found to vary in ways that PSMTs and instructors were engaged, equity emphases, and planned and unexpected outcomes. All of the tasks emphasized equity issues related to access and achievement, as well as outcomes of awareness, knowledge, and positive dispositions. Instructors played a critical role in mitigating the effects of tasks based on their choices of content, form, and task outcomes. My findings also suggest that using a combination of equity tasks would more reliably promote equity practice among PSMTs in a methods course than a single task

Mathematical Knowledge for Teachers: Opportunities to Learn to Teach Algebra in Teacher Education Programs

Preparing to Teach Algebra (PTA) Project gathered data about opportunities to learn to teach algebra provided by secondary teacher education programs. In sharing our findings, we use structures from the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) framework (Ball & Bass, 2003). The MKT framework is one way of situating the ways in which teacher education programs support preservice mathematics teachers in developing necessary knowledge types for teaching algebra. Using the MKT framework as an analytical framework is not straightforward, however. The framework must be interpreted and individualized to the study of algebra and to the opportunities to learn to teach algebra that we found. We present our struggles, the evolved framework, and our results in this session

Developing Frameworks for Preparation of Algebra Teachers: Challenges and Opportunities

Algebra has long been considered the foundation for higher-level mathematics and a gatekeeper for postsecondary opportunities. In recent decades, increasing enrollments in algebra have placed additional demands on algebra teachers for reaching a more diverse population of students. With the 2010 release and adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) by all but a few states, questions arise regarding preparing teachers to teach the standards and practices described in CCSSM. In this paper, we describe the processes used to develop frameworks to study opportunities provided by secondary teacher preparation programs to learn about algebra, algebra teaching, achieving equity in algebra learning, and the algebra, functions, and modeling standards and mathematical practices described in CCSSM. In particular, we discuss opportunities and challenges encountered in our work