There were two primary goals of the research conducted for this dissertation study. Firstly, to fill a gap in the research literature and begin a discussion around secondary pre-service teachers Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) as it pertains to geometry. Although a multitude of studies exist for elementary teachers’ MKT, few exist at the secondary level and thus work is needed in this area of research. The current study is meant to help begin to fill that gap and also to examine the complexities of MKT for geometry. Secondly, I investigated the impact of two quarters of coursework, including two methods courses centered around the analysis of student work and thinking in geometry, on pre-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge.
The participants of the study were composed of eight pre-service teachers seeking licensure to teach 7th to 12th grade mathematics courses at a large Midwestern university. Pretest and posttest surveys were administered to the participants. Additionally, to clarify answers on the surveys, follow up interviews were conducted with all of the participants. Based on their responses, three participants were chosen for an in-depth case study. The selection of the candidates for the case study was carried out based on Cooney, Shealy, and Arvold ‘s (1998) classification of pre-service teachers.
Analysis of the survey data revealed that the pre-service teachers’ scores on the posttest surveys were significantly lower than their scores on the pretest surveys. A closer look at the data revealed that the pre-service teachers’ scores on items pertaining to the analysis of student work and thinking, and decompressing were significantly lower in the posttest. However, there was no significant difference between their pre- and posttest scores on items pertaining to instructional strategies, questioning, trimming, and bridging. Additionally there was no significant difference in their scores for self-efficacy from pre- to posttest.
The case studies revealed that the pre-service teachers relied on their past experiences as learners of mathematics as well as their work experiences while making pedagogical decisions. The knowledge of content trajectories was crucial in their pedagogical decision making process. Pre-service teachers were unable to utilize learning based assessment models to aid in assessing student work and developing instructional tasks. Even though the pre-service teachers were not able to use the assessment models, their attention to student work increased. These results relate to previous findings in the area of pre-service teachers MKT (Elbaz, 1983; Fuller, & Brown, 1975; Kahan, et al., 2003; Levin, & Ye, 2008). Implication for future research and practice are discussed.
There were two primary goals of the research conducted for this dissertation study. Firstly, to fill a gap in the research literature and begin a discussion around secondary pre-service teachers Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) as it pertains to geometry. Although a multitude of studies exist for elementary teachers’ MKT, few exist at the secondary level and thus work is needed in this area of research. The current study is meant to help begin to fill that gap and also to examine the complexities of MKT for geometry. Secondly, I investigated the impact of two quarters of coursework, including two methods courses centered around the analysis of student work and thinking in geometry, on pre-service teachers’ mathematical knowledge.
The participants of the study were composed of eight pre-service teachers seeking licensure to teach 7th to 12th grade mathematics courses at a large Midwestern university. Pretest and posttest surveys were administered to the participants. Additionally, to clarify answers on the surveys, follow up interviews were conducted with all of the participants. Based on their responses, three participants were chosen for an in-depth case study. The selection of the candidates for the case study was carried out based on Cooney, Shealy, and Arvold ‘s (1998) classification of pre-service teachers.
Analysis of the survey data revealed that the pre-service teachers’ scores on the posttest surveys were significantly lower than their scores on the pretest surveys. A closer look at the data revealed that the pre-service teachers’ scores on items pertaining to the analysis of student work and thinking, and decompressing were significantly lower in the posttest. However, there was no significant difference between their pre- and posttest scores on items pertaining to instructional strategies, questioning, trimming, and bridging. Additionally there was no significant difference in their scores for self-efficacy from pre- to posttest.
The case studies revealed that the pre-service teachers relied on their past experiences as learners of mathematics as well as their work experiences while making pedagogical decisions. The knowledge of content trajectories was crucial in their pedagogical decision making process. Pre-service teachers were unable to utilize learning based assessment models to aid in assessing student work and developing instructional tasks. Even though the pre-service teachers were not able to use the assessment models, their attention to student work increased. These results relate to previous findings in the area of pre-service teachers MKT (Elbaz, 1983; Fuller, & Brown, 1975; Kahan, et al., 2003; Levin, & Ye, 2008). Implication for future research and practice are discussed.
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