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Science and Mathematics Education Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

The Role Of Perception, Interpretation, And Decision Making In The Development Of Beginning Teachers’ Competence, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh Oct 2015

The Role Of Perception, Interpretation, And Decision Making In The Development Of Beginning Teachers’ Competence, Rossella Santagata, Cathery Yeh

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study investigates beginning US elementary teachers’ competence for teaching mathematics and its development during teacher preparation and into the first 2 years of full-time teaching. Data are drawn from three longitudinal case studies and include the classroom video analysis survey, classroom observations and interviews about teachers’ instructional decisions, and whole-day shadowing. A multi-case study design was used to examine the processes of perception, interpretation, and decision making in participants’ comments on video clips of teaching episodes and in reflections about their own teaching. Findings support the central role of these processes in teacher competence and the generative power of …


Pre-Service Teachers Learning To Generate Evidence-Based Hypotheses On The Effects Of Teaching On Student Learning, Cathery Yeh, Rossella Santagata Sep 2014

Pre-Service Teachers Learning To Generate Evidence-Based Hypotheses On The Effects Of Teaching On Student Learning, Cathery Yeh, Rossella Santagata

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the development of a specific sub-skill for studying and improving teaching—the generation of hypotheses about the effects of teaching on student learning. Two groups of elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) were compared: one group that attended a typical mathematics-methods course and one that attended a course integrating analysis skills for learning from teaching. Data consist of PSTs’ comments on video clips of mathematics instruction administered before and after course completion. Findings reveal that PSTs at the beginning of the program struggled to generate hypotheses with relevant evidence, often equating teacher behavior or student correct answers as evidence of …


Cultivating Primary Students’ Scientific Thinking Through Sustained Teacher Professional Development, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Kimberly A. White-Smith, Robert C. Calfee Jan 2014

Cultivating Primary Students’ Scientific Thinking Through Sustained Teacher Professional Development, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Kimberly A. White-Smith, Robert C. Calfee

Education Faculty Articles and Research

While the United States’ National Research Council (NRC 2012) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS 2013) advocate children’s engagement in active science learning, elementary school teachers in the US indicate lack of time to teach science regularly because of (1) school and district pressure to focus on English language arts and mathematics assessment scores in response to the country’s No Child Left Behind (2001) mandates; (2) a lack of preparation in teacher science content knowledge; and (3) a lack of science professional development opportunities. In response to these needs and focusing on the primary (Kindergarten–first–second) grade levels, the Project SMART …