Education Commons^™

Beyond Traditional Teacher Preparation: Value-Add Experiences For Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Paula Jakopovic, Kelly Gomez Johnson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The current pool of highly qualified secondary mathematics teachers is woefully inadequate to address the needs of schools across the United States and other countries internationally. In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) areas, providing quality instruction in a changing world requires continuous change and innovation as programs prepare and train teachers. University teacher preparation programs wrestle with ways to provide wider professional experiences (WPE) within social learning environments called communities of practice (CoP). This qualitative study examines a university-led undergraduate scholarship program, aimed at recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified secondary preservice mathematics teacher candidates. With increased exposure to mathematics …

Mentoring Future Mathematics Teachers: Lessons Learned From Four Mentoring Partnerships, Angie Hodge, Janice Rech, Michael Matthews, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Mentoring is an important aspect of mathematics teacher education, and in particular, pre-service teacher education. Faculty at a large Midwestern university developed and refined a mentoring program designed to help pre-service secondary mathematics teachers, called Scholars, become future leaders in mathematics education. This paper describes how faculty mentors leveraged challenges in the mentoring program’s early stages based on their reflections and initial mentee outcomes to create a more effective mentoring program. Recommendations based on research and practice are provided for other university programs interested in mentoring future mathematics teachers.

The Effects Of Single-Gender Math Classroom Activities On The Achievement And Behavior Outcomes Of Fifth-Grade Girls And Boys At A Public Elementary School, Erik P. Chaussee

Student Work

The purpose of this study was to examine single-gender schools and/or classes as a method of improving student achievement and gaining greater satisfaction in school. The paper will further examine the effects of single-gender classes on student achievement, the academic gender gap, and the attitudes of students and teachers. It will also look at the legal implications of such a practice. In addition, it will examine a variety of school district's past methods and structures in order to implement a single-gender school or single-gender classes within a coed school including other programs within schools.

Got Math? Implementation Guide, Margo Shea, Christopher Nye

Curriculum

For many kids math is like spinach--something to be avoided if possible. This may well be because they see learning math as a rather abstract process, cut off from the real world. For many teachers, with large classes and pressure to prepare for standardized tests, opportunities to individualize math instruction and to experiment with creative group activities that bring math alive remain out of reach. As a result of these and other factors, across the nation our children's math achievement levels remain pretty disappointing.

Got Math?, an out-of-school-time mentoring program for third through fifth graders, is one model that aims …