RUME 25
2023
Omaha, Nebraska
What is so Difficult about Teaching Precalculus for the First Time? Graduate Students' Perspectives on Learning to Teach.
Page: 685
This study seeks to explore and understand the challenges of teaching precalculus for the first time from the perspective of a novice Mathematics Graduate Student Instructor (MGSI). This qualitative multiple-case study followed three MGSIs through a semester of teaching to understand their needs and inform efforts to support instructors. Findings indicated novice MGSIs encountered many challenges including covering course content, estimating class time, facilitating activities, maintaining student engagement, and adjusting to variation in students’ preparation. However, balancing dual responsibilities of student and instructor, working with students’ negative responses to engaging teaching methods, and interpreting students’ performance on assessments emerged as the most difficult challenges to overcome.