Enhancing Prospective Secondary Teachers’ Potential Competence for Enacting Core Teaching Practices—Through Experiences in University Mathematics and Statistics Courses

Authors

• Yvonne Lai, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Jeremy F. Strayer, Middle State Tennessee UniversityFollow
• Andrew Ross, Eastern Michigan UniversityFollow
• Kingsley Adamoah, Eastern Michigan University
• Cynthia O. Anhalt, University of ArizonaFollow
• Chris Bonnesen, Middle State Tennessee UniversityFollow
• Stephanie Casey, Eastern Michigan UniversityFollow
• Brynja Kohler, Utah State UniversityFollow
• Alyson E. Lischka, Middle State Tennessee UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

ZDM – Mathematics Education

Author ORCID Identifier

Yvonne Lai https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2547-9914

Jeremy F. Strayer https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0463-7503

Cynthia O. Anhalt https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4566-7832

Stephanie Casey https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6715-6187

Brynja R. Kohler https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2395-5956

Alyson E. Lischka https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9378-3953

Volume

55

Publisher

Springer

Publication Date

4-28-2023

First Page

867

Last Page

881

Abstract

In 1908, Felix Klein suggested that to mend the discontinuity that prospective secondary teachers face, university instruction must account for teachers’ needs. More than a century later, problems of discontinuity remain. Our project addresses the dilemma of discontinuity in university mathematics courses through simulating core teaching practices in mathematically intensive ways. In other words, we interpret teachers’ needs to include integrating content and pedagogy. We argue that doing so has the potential to impact teachers’ competence. To make this argument, we report findings from the Mathematics of Doing, Understanding, Learning, and Educating for Secondary Schools (MODULE(S2)) project. The results are based on data from 324 prospective secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) enrolled in courses using curricular materials developed by the project in four content areas (algebra, geometry, modeling, and statistics). We operationalized competence in terms of PSMTs’ content knowledge for teaching and their motivation for enacting core teaching practices. We examined pre- and post-term data addressing these constructs. We found mean increases in PSMTs’ outcomes in content knowledge for teaching and aspects of motivation.

Recommended Citation

Lai, Y., Strayer, J.F., Ross, A. et al. Enhancing prospective secondary teachers’ potential competence for enacting core teaching practices—through experiences in university mathematics and statistics courses. ZDM Mathematics Education 55, 867–881 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-023-01485-4