Education Commons^™

Prospective Early Childhood Teachers’ Evolving Conceptions Of Using A Mathematics Learning Trajectory To Guide Intentional Teaching, Melissa E. Hedges

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study investigated how fifteen early childhood

preservice teachers’ (PSTs) mathematical knowledge needed for teaching and early mathematics

learning trajectory knowledge impacted the intentionality of instructional decision-making. The

central research question asked: In what ways do early mathematics learning trajectories inform

prospective early childhood teachers’ instructional decisions in ways that are likely to advance

student learning on the subitizing trajectory? The literature review revealed numerous studies

focused on the usefulness of learning trajectory knowledge on prospective elementary and

inservice teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching, lesson planning, instruction, and

assessment, but no studies were found regarding early childhood pre-service …

A Multilevel Analysis Of The Impact Of Teachers’ Beliefs And Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching On Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Adem Ekmekci, Danya M. Corkin, Weihua Fan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: Teachers’ content knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning are among the key factors for effective teaching and, in turn, for student achievement-related outcomes. This study explores the extent to which K-8 math teachers’—who teach in high-poverty urban schools—professional background, motivational beliefs, and mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) have an impact on students’ math achievement. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results indicated that although students’ prior mathematics achievement was the most determining factor of their subsequent math achievement, teachers’ MKT and holding a bachelor’s degree in mathematics had significant positive effects on students’ math achievement. Results provide support for professional …

Readiness To Teach Secondary Mathematics: A Study Of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Self-Perceptions, Gregory S. C. Hine, Thuan Thai

Gregory S.C. Hine

High Cognitive Demand Examples In Precalculus: Examining The Work And Knowledge Entailed In Enactment, Erica R. Miller

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Historically, pass rates in undergraduate precalculus courses have been dismally low and the teaching practices and knowledge of university instructors have been understudied. To help improve teaching effectiveness and student outcomes in undergraduate precalculus courses, I have studied the cognitive demand of enacted examples. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the pedagogical work and mathematical knowledge entailed in the enactment of high cognitive demand examples in a three-part study. To answer my research questions, I conducted classroom observations as well as pre- and post-observation interviews with seven graduate student instructors at a large public R1 university in the …

Teacher Knowledge And Learning In-Situ: A Case Study Of The Long Division Algorithm, Shikha Takker, K. Subramaniam

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of the study reported in this paper was to explore and enhance experienced school mathematics teachers’ knowledge of students’ thinking, as it is manifested in practice. Data were collected from records of classroom observations, interviews with participating teachers, and weekly teacher-researcher meetings organized in the school. In this paper, we discuss the mathematical challenges faced by a primary school teacher as she attempts to unpack the structure of the division algorithm, while teaching in a Grade 4 classroom. Through this case study, we exemplify how a focus on mathematical knowledge for teaching ‘in situ’ helped in triggering a …

Antecedents Of Teachers’ Educational Beliefs About Mathematics And Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching Among In-Service Teachers In High Poverty Urban Schools, Danya M. Corkin, Adem Ekmekci, Anne Papakonstantinou

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines the antecedents of three types of educational beliefs about mathematics among 151 teachers predominantly working in high poverty schools. Studies across various countries have found that teachers in high poverty schools are less likely to enact instructional approaches that align with mathematics reform standards set by national and international organizations. Researchers contend that for instruction to change, educational beliefs about mathematics and teaching must change. Regression analyses indicated that mathematics-teaching experience was associated with teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching mathematics at the onset of professional development and the number of mathematics college courses teachers had taken moderated their …

Exploring The Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching Of Japanese Teachers, Ratu Jared R. T. Bukarau

Theses and Dissertations

In the past two decades there has been an increased effort to understand the depth to which mathematics teachers must know their subject to teach it effectively. Researchers have termed this type of knowledge mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Even though recent studies have focused on MKT, the current literature on the subject indicates that this area remains underdeveloped. In an attempt to further refine our conception of MKT this study looked at MKT in Japan. In this thesis I explored and categorized the MKT of three experienced Japanese cooperating teachers (CTs) by looking at the content of their conversations …

Thinking On The Brink: Facilitating Student Teachers' Learning Through In-The-Moment Interjections, Travis L. Lemon

Theses and Dissertations

In order to investigate ways pre-service student teachers (PSTs) might learn to teach with high-level tasks and effectively incorporate student thinking into their lessons a teaching experiment was designed and carried out by the cooperating teacher/researcher (CT). The intervention was for the CT to interject into the lessons of the PSTs during moments of opportunity. By interjecting a small question or comment during the lesson the CT hoped to support the learning of both the students of mathematics in the class and the PSTs. This in-the-moment interjecting was meant to enhance and underscore the situated learning of the PSTs within …

Student Teacher Knowledge And Its Impact On Task Design, Tenille Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how student teachers used their mathematical knowledge for teaching and pedagogical knowledge to design and modify mathematical tasks. It also examined the relationship between teacher knowledge and the cognitive demands of a task. The study relied heavily on the framework in Hill, Ball, and Shilling (2008), which describes the different domains of knowledge in mathematical knowledge for teaching, and the framework on the cognitive demands of mathematical tasks in Stein, Smith, Henningsen, and Silver (2000). Results of the study indicated that the student teachers used their common content knowledge when they lacked sufficient knowledge in other domains, …