Elementary

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of K-8 Mathematics Teacher Preparation on Teachers' Knowledge, Practices, and Student Learning

Principal Investigator:

Dawn Berk

Co-Investigator:

James Hiebert

Alfinio Flores

Project Overview

Background & Purpose:

This project has three primary objectives:

Refine a developing theory of teacher preparation;
Examine empirically the relationships among mathematics teacher preparation, teacher learning, teaching practice, and student learning of mathematics; and,
Understand the conditions under which teachers use the knowledge and skills acquired during preparation and during their first few years of teaching to improve their practice.

Setting:

Grades 3 - 8 math classrooms where graduates of two different mathematics teacher preparation programs have assumed teaching positions.

Research Design:

The project has a longitudinal, cross-sectional, and comparative research design and will generate evidence that is descriptive [case study, observational] and associative/correlational [quasi-experimental]. Original data is being collected from graduates of two different mathematics teacher preparation programs, one for K-8 certification and one for 7-12 certification, using assessments of learning [achievement tests], observation [personal observation], and survey research [semi-structured or informal interviews].

We have designed or will design the following measures:
Measures of pre-service/in-service teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching
Measures of pre-service/in-service teachers' skills for analyzing mathematics teaching situations
Measures of the quality of in-service teachers' mathematics instruction
Measures of students' learning of mathematics

Other Products:

One outcome of this project will be revised lesson plans for mathematics content courses for prospective K-8 teachers.

Discipline:

State:

Target Population: