Mathematics teacher educators have suggested preservice mathematics teachers' (PMTs') practices provide evidence of their mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). PMTs engage in approximations of practice to rehearse teaching. To explore connections between MKT and PMTs' practices, we operationalized six MKT subdomains in terms of approximations…

Problem solving has long been a priority in mathematics education, and the first Common Core mathematical practice (SMP1) focuses on this priority through the language of "Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them." We present findings from a survey about how prospective elementary teachers' (PTs) make sense of potential…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how science teachers who persisted in urban schools interpreted and responded to the unique features of urban educational contexts. With 17 alumni who taught in metropolitan areas across seven states, the Science Educators for Urban Schools (SEUS) program provided a research setting that…

Despite agreement among teacher educators, scholars, and policymakers on the importance of teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK), existing models provide limited information about the nature of this foundational component of teacher knowledge. The common assumption is that teachers need to know more about the science subject matter than their…

Given the increasing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in secondary mathematics classrooms, it is imperative that mathematics teacher educators develop measures for determining how and why secondary mathematics teachers (SMTs) understand and respond instructionally to these students. This paper reports on the initial development and…

Math teachers' circles are a form of professional development that is recommended by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in their publication Mathematical Education of Teachers II (2012). However, little research has been published on how effective math teachers' circles are in advancing the mathematical knowledge of teachers and…

Research has indicated that experts' subject matter knowledge structures (SMKSs) differ from those of novices in that they contain more cross-linking, interconnections, and overarching thematic elements, characteristics that are in accordance with those espoused in current reform documents. Unfortunately, teachers' SMKSs are not…

The purpose of this three-year case study was to understand how a beginning biology teacher (Alice) designed and taught a 5E unit on natural selection, how the unit changed when she took a position in a different school district, and why the changes occurred. We examined Alice's developing beliefs about science teaching and learning,…

Despite historical national efforts to improve elementary science education, science instruction continues to be marginalized, varying by state. This study was designed to address the ongoing challenge of educating elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach science. Elementary PSTs are one of the science education community's major links…

This study determines whether web-based instruction (WBI) represents an improved method for helping preservice teachers learn procedural and conceptual knowledge of fractions.. The purpose was to compare the effectiveness of web-based instruction (WBI) with the traditional lecture in mathematics content and methods for the elementary school…

The purpose of the research was to improve the effectiveness of instruction in constructivist pedagogy in a college elementary mathematics education course through intentional integration of instruction in mathematics content. Instructors of this course previously used examples involving mathematics content on an ad hoc basis in an attempt to…

Multiple views have been presented on how mathematical content knowledge should be taught in order to ensure quality instruction in the classroom. However, the ability to teach mathematics content is influenced by general pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge and mathematical content knowledge. Nevertheless, all pedagogical competencies and…

Student initiatives play an important role in inquiry-based science with all students, including English language learning (ELL) students. This study examined initiatives that elementary students made as they participated in an intervention to promote science learning and English language development over a three-year period. In addition, the…

This study investigated the mathematics beliefs and content knowledge of 103 elementary pre-service teachers in a developmental teacher preparation program that included a two course mathematics methods sequence. Pre-service teachers' pedagogical beliefs became more cognitively-oriented during the teacher preparation program with these changes…

Analyzes projects developed by preservice teachers enrolled in an elementary science course. Finds that students made a number of different types of mathematical errors and underutilized data representation and summary forms. (Author/MM)