RUME 28
2026
Alexandria, Virginia
Making Upper Division Math Courses More Relevant for Prospective Teachers
Page: 72
In this report we address the longstanding problem of the perceived relevance of upper division math courses for prospective secondary school teachers. Through a multi-year design-based research approach we are reimaging a Dynamical Systems and Modeling course and investigating ways to make the course more relevant to prospective teachers. In this work we report on the impact of these efforts on students’ relational understanding of why a particular function is a horizontal shift to the left of another function, a high school topic that is often only instrumentally taught and understood. Analysis of beginning and mid-semester assessments indicate significant growth in our students’ ability to provide meaningful explanations. We also report on students’ perspectives on classroom activities that influenced their reasoning.