PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Developing mathematical knowledge for teaching in content courses for preservice elementary teachers
Page: 889
In recent years, much attention in the teacher education literature has been given to ways in which inservice teachers develop facility with the construct known as mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Much less is known about the ability of preservice teachers to construct MKT. To address this, the current preliminary report adds to the research base by investigating two primary questions: (1) Can teachers build MKT in their content courses?, and (2) Can teachers engage in meaningful mathematical discourse as a result of their content courses? The report examines the effects of a semester long course on number and operations designed to allow preservice elementary teachers opportunities to build different aspects of MKT. Very preliminary analysis shows that many students lack this knowledge upon entering the course, but most are able to begin to build a degree of facility in it by course completion.