Prospective teacher learning: recognizing evidence of conceptual understanding

This study examined prospective teachers’ (PSTs) ability to recognize evidence of children’s conceptual understanding of mathematics in three content areas before and after an instructional intervention designed to support this ability. It also investigates the role PSTs’ content knowledge plays in their ability to recognize children’s mathematical understanding. Results of content knowledge assessments administered at the beginning of the study revealed that content knowledge did seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s understanding when the child’s response demonstrated understanding or demonstrated a misconception. Content knowledge did not seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s procedural responses, as many PSTs with good content knowledge initially characterized procedural solutions as evidence of conceptual understanding. Similarly, content knowledge did not seem to support PSTs’ analyses of children’s responses with features commonly associated with understanding but not evidence of understanding. After the instructional intervention consisting of three multifaceted lessons in which PSTs examined many examples of student thinking, they showed improved ability to analyze responses with conceptual features and no evidence of conceptual understanding and responses demonstrating procedural knowledge. Results suggest that content knowledge is not sufficient for supporting PSTs’ analysis of children’s thinking, and that building activities such as the intervention into content courses may help develop this ability. Implications for teacher education programs and future research are considered.     

Orientations of prospective teachers toward students' family and community

Teacher educators need an awareness of orientations that prospective teachers (PSTs) hold about children's families and communities, so that they can support PSTs in developing positive perspectives and addressing deficit perspectives. Orientations expressed by 20 PSTs while in preK-8 mathematics methods courses are examined. Results from interviews indicate that PSTs recognize the importance of connecting with parents, understanding home and community practices, and building on these practices to support children's mathematical learning. They also, however, exhibit inconsistent perspectives, at times indicating a lack of understanding as to why some families appear to be less able to support students' academic efforts.     

Effects of the Science Writing Heuristic Approach on the Quality of Prospective Science Teachers’ Argumentative Writing and Their Understanding of Scientific Argumentation

This study investigates the effect of the science writing heuristic (SWH) approach on the quality of prospective science teachers’ (PSTs) argumentative writing and their understanding of the components of argumentation in the SWH approach and their own learning. Ten SWH approach activities were implemented during the semester. The study was carried out with 31 PSTs. A case study design was used. Data included the SWH approach’s grading rubric and semistructured interviews. While the ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were used to analyze the SWH approach’s grading rubric, content analysis was used to analyze the semistructured interviews conducted with 12 PSTs. The ANOVA results showed a statistical difference among the writing performance of the PSTs (F = 14.493, p < 0.01). The findings gathered from the interviews revealed that the quality of the argumentative writing and research skills of the PSTs increased over time. The PSTs made explicit associations among their beginning questions, data and observations, and claims and evidence, and they made distinctions between their data, observations, and evidence. Multiple representations played an important role in providing evidence to support claims. Moreover, the process of negotiation helped PSTs learn more effectively, and they believed that the argument-based inquiry lab was beneficial to their learning and their future vocational careers as teachers.     

The Nature of Pre-service Science Teachers’ Argumentation in Inquiry-oriented Laboratory Context

The aim of this study was to investigate the kinds of argumentation schemes generated by pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) as they perform inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks, and to explore how argumentation schemes vary by task as well as by experimentation and discussion sessions. The model of argumentative and scienti?c inquiry was used as a design framework in the present study. According to the model, the inquiry of scientific topics was employed by groups of participants through experimentation and critical discussion sessions. The participants of the study were 35 PSTs, who teach middle school science to sixth through eighth grade students after graduation. The data were collected through video- and audio-recordings of the discussions made by PSTs in six inquiry-oriented laboratory sessions. For the analysis of data, pre-determined argumentation schemes by Walton were employed. The results illustrated that PSTs applied varied premises rather than only observations or reliable sources to ground their claims or to argue for a case or an action. It is also worthy of notice that the construction and evaluation of scientific knowledge claims resulted in different numbers and kinds of arguments. Results of this study suggest that designing inquiry-oriented laboratory environments, which are enriched with critical discussion, provides discourse opportunities that can support argumentation. Moreover, PSTs can be encouraged to support and promote argumentation in their future science classrooms if they engage in argumentation integrated instructional strategies.     

Examining the Effectiveness of an Academic Language Planning Organizer as a Tool for Planning Science Academic Language Instruction and Supports

To engage in the practices of science, students must have a strong command of science academic language. However, content area teachers often make academic language an incidental part of their lesson planning, which leads to missed opportunities to enhance students’ language development. To support pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) in making language planning an explicit part of their science lessons, we created the Academic Language Planning Organizer (ALPO). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the ALPO on two levels: first, by examining participants’ interactions with the ALPO as they identified academic language features, objectives and supports; and second, by exploring the ways that participants translated identified language supports to planned science activities. Findings indicated that, when using the ALPO, PSTs identified clear language functions and relevant vocabulary terms, and also frequently developed clear, observable and measurable language objectives. When lesson planning, PSTs were largely successful in translating previously identified language supports to their lesson plans, and often planned additional language supports beyond what was required. We also found, however, that the ALPO did not meet its intended use in supporting PSTs in identifying discourse and syntax demands associated with specific academic language functions, suggesting that revisions to the ALPO could better support PSTs in identifying these academic language demands. Implications for supporting PSTs’ planning for and scaffolding of science academic language use are presented.     

Examining and elaborating upon the nature of elementary prospective teachers’ conceptions of partitive division with fractions

The purpose of this study was to examine and elaborate upon elementary prospective teachers’ (PSTs) conceptions of partitive division with fractions. We examined the degree to which PSTs’ conceptions were connected (i.e., capable of translating between representations correctly; aware that partitive division generates a unit rate for its quotient) and flexible (i.e., capable of differentiating between opportunities to partition or iterate (or both) when solving a partitive division task; aware that partitioning or iterating (or both) could be associated with the operation of division, as appropriate). Seventeen PSTs participated in task-based interviews prior to instruction in a mathematics content course for teachers. These PSTs demonstrated disconnected conceptions of partitive division with fractions when they incorrectly translated between representations and either inconsistently or did not express awareness that the purpose of the task was to generate a unit rate. These PSTs demonstrated rigid conceptions of partitive division with fractions such that they did not express awareness that the process of iterating could be associated with the operation of division, even when they obtained a correct answer by iterating. Results extend prior research by looking beyond PSTs’ performance on tasks to elaborate upon PSTs’ conceptions of the operation of partitive division. This study contributes new insights into PSTs’ conceptions that can be used by mathematics teacher educators to inform the design of future instructional interventions.     

Pre-service teacher planning for differentiation of instruction in mathematics classrooms

This study investigated how 46 pre-service teachers (PSTs) planned for differentiation of instruction in mathematics. Content analysis was utilized to explore the differentiation strategies included and student characteristics considered in PST plans and how PSTs used differentiation strategies and student characteristics to differentiate lesson content, process, product, and environment. In addition, a rubric was designed and utilized to analyze the level of detail PSTs provided in their plans. Results indicated that overall, PSTs were developing in their planning for differentiation of instruction, using general terms to describe the modifications they would make to meet student needs. Moreover, results revealed that PSTs included strategies to differentiate lesson content and environment most often in their plans and frequently considered student readiness levels when planning for differentiation. Findings also revealed that PSTs need support in learning how to plan for differentiation based on student cultural backgrounds. Implications for mathematics teacher preparation are discussed.

     

What they notice in video: a study of prospective secondary mathematics teachers learning to teach

Most teacher preparation programs have embraced the use of video as an effective methodology for developing teachers’ noticing skills. This study focused on learning about what secondary mathematics prospective teachers (PSTs) were able to notice when viewing video of their own co-teaching, particularly in a microteaching setting that consisted of peers. PSTs documented their observations on an observation tool while re-watching their video and then identified and ranked their top three observations. The ranked noticing statements were analyzed based on a grounded theory approach. Overall, PSTs’ ranked observations were more likely to attend to students and had a strong focus on mathematics and student learning. Ranked observations equally demonstrated both broad and specific understanding of video moments and often made suggestions that something they noticed could be improved in the implementation stage, versus improvements in planning or changes in themselves. Results support PSTs’ use of video for developing noticing skills in teacher education programs.     

Pre-service teachers teaching about and across cultures using digital environments: the case of eTutor

Increasingly, school teachers are expected to be able to teach about and across cultures, as well as teach in digitally enriched classrooms. Teacher educators are expected to prepare their teaching students for such challenges. One university designed the eTutor online environment to enhance and support the development of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) intercultural capability, as well as enhance their capability to use digital technologies in their own teaching practices. Over 450 PSTs and school students from eight schools across four countries interacted with each other online for a 14-week period. Participants posted blogs, comments, wall posts and shared images and videos centred on cultural exchange. Despite the challenges of access to technology and conflicting calendars, eTutor was seen by participating schools as a potentially useful way to engage their students in intercultural learning. The experience of interacting with children from multiple cultures in an online environment contributed positively to a shift, for the majority of PSTs, from an ethnocentric to a more ethnorelative worldview. However, PSTs found establishing relationships with students in the online environment challenging.     

The effect of performance support and training on performer attitudes

While training has been a proven and heavily relied on intervention to impart job‐enabling information to performers, its ability to have a positive effect on job performance has been demonstrated to diminish over time. One intervention that has been adopted by performance technologists to provide ongoing support is an electronic performance support system (EPSS). The study presented here examined the effect of EPSS and training on user attitudes. Results revealed that participants receiving only EPSS and those receiving training and EPSS had significantly higher attitudes than participants who received only training. Recommendations on how to best combine and implement these performance interventions based on these data are discussed.     

Preservice Science Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs and Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues

This study investigated preservice elementary science teachers’ (PSTs) informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues (SSI), their epistemological beliefs, and the relationship between informal reasoning and epistemological beliefs. From several SSIs, nuclear power usage was selected for this study. A total of 647 Turkish PSTs enrolled in three large universities in Turkey completed the open-ended questionnaire, which assessed the participants’ informal reasoning about the target SSI, and Schommer’s (1990) Epistemological Questionnaire. The participants’ epistemological beliefs were assessed quantitatively and their informal reasoning was assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings revealed that PSTs preferred to generate evidence-based arguments rather than intuitive-based arguments; however, they failed to generate quality evidence and present different types of evidence to support their claims. Furthermore, among the reasoning quality indicators, PSTs mostly generated supportive argument construction. Regarding the use of reasoning modes, types of risk arguments and political-oriented arguments emerged as the new reasoning modes. The study demonstrated that the PSTs had different epistemological beliefs in terms of innate ability, omniscient authority, certain knowledge, and quick learning. Correlational analyses revealed that there was a strong negative correlation between the PSTs’ certain knowledge and counterargument construction, and there were negative correlations between the PSTs’ innate ability, certain knowledge, and quick learning dimensions of epistemological beliefs and their total argument construction. This study has implications for both science teacher education and the practice of science education. For example, PST teacher education programs should give sufficient importance to training teachers that are skillful and knowledgeable regarding SSIs. To achieve this, specific SSI-related courses should form part of science teacher education programs.     

Shifting Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Teaching: the Contextual Situation of a Mathematics Methods Course

For pre-service teachers (PSTs) who have been exposed to traditional approaches, teacher education courses can be a revelatory experience in their development as educators. This study explores if Canadian upper elementary/lower secondary (grades 4–10) PSTs change their beliefs about mathematics teaching as a result of taking a mathematics methods course and how the course influenced these beliefs. Surveys were used to measure participants’ mathematics beliefs, and results show that PSTs’ beliefs moved to favor reform-based approaches. Qualitative data complemented the survey results, suggesting that experiencing new approaches and having the opportunity to apply them into practice are important to their development as mathematics teachers.     

Learning to Teach Elementary Science Through Iterative Cycles of Enactment in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Contexts

Iterative cycles of enactment embedded in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts provide rich opportunities for preservice teachers (PSTs) to enact core practices of science. This study is situated in the larger Families Involved in Sociocultural Teaching and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (FIESTAS) project, which weaves together cycles of enactment, core practices in science education and culturally relevant pedagogies. The theoretical foundation draws upon situated learning theory and communities of practice. Using video analysis by PSTs and course artifacts, the authors studied how the iterative process of these cycles guided PSTs development as teachers of elementary science. Findings demonstrate how PSTs were drawing on resources to inform practice, purposefully noticing their practice, renegotiating their roles in teaching, and reconsidering “professional blindness” through cultural practice.     

Investigating the effects of peer instruction on preservice mathematics teachers’ achievements in statistics and probability

This study investigated the effects of two different accountability scoring mechanisms (ASMs), which were used during the peer instruction (PI) process, on preservice middle school mathematics teachers’ (PSTs) achievements in statistics and probability. In the spring semester of 2016–2017 academic year, 46 third-year PSTs, who had been attending a statistics and probability course, participated in the study. Based on their pre-test scores, the PSTs were randomly divided into two equally achieving groups (Group 1 and Group 2). The data of this study were collected using an academic achievement test and PI and course evaluation forms. A learning management system (LMS), which was a web-based application designed by the first author, was used in collecting the PSTs’ responses to the given conceptual questions. Two different ASMs were used in calculating the PSTs’ PI scores. The findings showed that the PSTs in Group 1 obtained significantly higher overall academic, PI, and post-test scores than the PSTs in Group 2. Therefore, the PSTs’ PI and overall academic achievement scores differed based on the ASM used. Thus, using an ASM during a PI process found to be effective in increasing the PSTs’ engagement in the peer discussion. Finally, the analysis of the PSTs’ opinions regarding to the PI, learning process, and learning environment indicated their overall satisfaction.     

Prospective and Mentor Teacher Perspectives on Co-learning Events

One response to the disconnect between principle-based university methods courses and practice-oriented elementary school classrooms has been to create co-learning spaces by bringing prospective teachers (PSTs), practicing mentor teachers (MTs), and teacher educators together to explore key ideas related to teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine MTs’ and PSTs’ perspectives on their experiences in co-learning events designed to maximize co-construction of knowledge that might lessen the gap between theory and practice. Findings from the analysis of interviews with 16 PSTs and 22 MTs included numerous benefits of co-learning events, including opportunities for (a) MTs to learn about PSTs’ world and build relationships; (b) PSTs to learn from MTs’ practical knowledge; and (c) to foster diverse perspectives and mutually beneficial collaboration. Participants also described tensions related to positioning MTs and PSTs in collaborative roles. Implications for the design of co-learning events in teacher education are discussed.     

Information Technology as Performance Technology

The articles in. this issue seem to be converging on the concept of the “performance support system”—an integrated electronic job aid designed to support all the performance requirements of a given job or job function. The concept has implications for design of hypertext, other databases, job structure, organization structure, and training needs. The economic (business) case for performance support systems seems to position them as strategic investments, and the developers and managers of the systems will be responsible for the most critical asset of knowledge-based companies.     

Developing Character and Values for Global Citizens: Analysis of pre-service science teachers’ moral reasoning on socioscientific issues

Character and values are the essential driving forces that serve as general guides or points of reference for individuals to support decision-making and to act responsibly about global socioscientific issues (SSIs). Based on this assumption, we investigated to what extent pre-service science teachers (PSTs) of South Korea possess character and values as global citizens; these values include ecological worldview, socioscientific accountability, and social and moral compassion. Eighteen PSTs participated in the SSI programs focusing on developing character and values through dialogical and reflective processes. SSIs were centered on the use of nuclear power generation, climate change, and embryonic stem cell research. The results indicated that PSTs showed three key elements of character and values, but failed to apply consistent moral principles on the issues and demonstrated limited global perspectives. While they tended to approach the issues with emotion and sympathy, they nonetheless failed to perceive themselves as major moral agents who are able to actively resolve large-scale societal issues. This study also suggests that the SSI programs can facilitate socioscientific reasoning to include abilities such as recognition of the complexity of SSIs, examine issues from multiple perspectives, and exhibit skepticism about information.     

The role of a children's mathematical thinking experience in the preparation of prospective elementary school teachers

Historically, content preparation and pedagogical preparation of teachers in California have been separated. Recently, in integrating these areas, many mathematics methodology instructors have incorporated children's thinking into their courses, which are generally offered late in students’ undergraduate studies. We have implemented and studied a model for integrating mathematical content and children's mathematical thinking earlier, so that prospective elementary school teachers (PSTs) engage with children's mathematical thinking while enrolled in their first mathematics course. PSTs’ work with children in the Children's Mathematical Thinking Experience (CMTE) may enhance their mathematical learning. Preliminary study results indicate that the sophistication of CMTE students’ beliefs about mathematics, teaching, and learning increased more than the sophistication of beliefs held by students enrolled in a reform-oriented early field experience and that experiences considering children's mathematical thinking provided PSTs with increased motivation for learning mathematics.     

How pre-service teachers construct Quad Text Sets for use in secondary classrooms

As a multi-disciplinary team of teacher educators (in English Language Arts, English as a Second Language/Foreign Language, science, and social studies), we consider how secondary pre-service teachers (PSTs) perceive content-area literacy integration through practitioner-research study of how PSTs constructed Quad Text Sets (QTS). Results indicated that PSTs envisioned QTS as a means to teach content-specific background knowledge, and to a lesser extent content-specific literacy and general literacy. Despite positive perceptions of QTS, some PSTs, particularly science PSTS, struggled to recognize literacy’s role in content-area classrooms. We explore how teacher educators can help PSTs incorporate literacy strategies into secondary classrooms.