Mathematics Instruction in Safe Space: Prospective Elementary Teachers' Views of Mathematics Education

This article discusses findings from an investigation into 42 prospective elementary teachers' views of mathematics teaching and learning. The focus is on how the participants saw the roles of teachers, pupils,and mathematics in mathematics classes as they communicated their views in journals written during the study. I argue that some prospective teachers express a tendency to protect and relieve their future pupils from mathematics. I show how this tendency affects a shift from school being the place where teachers teach pupils toward a conception of a safe space where the teachers predominantly care for the children. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Research mathematicians as teacher educators: focusing on mathematics for secondary mathematics teachers

We believe that professional mathematicians who teach undergraduate mathematics courses to prospective teachers play an important role in the education of secondary school mathematics teachers. Thus, we explored the views of research mathematicians on the mathematics that should be taught to prospective mathematics teachers, on how the courses they teach can serve teachers in their work with school students, and on the changes they would implement if their courses were designed specifically for prospective teachers. We constructed profiles of the four mathematicians based on their responses to a clinical interview. We employed the construct of mathematics teacher-educators’ triad in the reflective analysis of our findings and extended the construct based on the results of this study. In conclusion, we commented on potential ways to draw stronger connections between university mathematics and the mathematics taught in schools.     

The relationship of teachers' conceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching to instructional practice

Case studies were conducted to investigate the conceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching held by three junior high school teachers. Examination of the relationship between conceptions and practice showed that the teachers' beliefs, views, and preferences about mathematics and its teaching played a significant, albeit subtle, role in shaping their instructional behavior. Differences among the teachers in their conceptions and practices are explained followed by a discussion of properties of their conceptual systems.This paper is based on the author's doctoral dissertation which was directed by Professor Thomas J. Cooney of the University of Georgia and was partly supported by a grant from San Diego State University. I wish to express my appreciation to the teachers who participated in the study and their administrators.     

Factors that influence teachers learning to do interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings

Understanding students' understanding of mathematical ideas can inform mathematics teaching, and task-based interviews are one way in which teachers can learn more about their students' understandings. The CIME project was designed to empower mathematics teachers to use interviews to understand their students' mathematical understandings as well as to prepare teachers to use technology-intensive curricula. This study examined the influences on three high school mathematics teachers as they learned to use task-based interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings. The areas of teacher knowledge and conceptions that influenced the teachers we studied were: teachers' mathematical understandings and knowledge of technology and the perceived importance of curriculum topics; teachers' views of knowing mathematics; teachers' perceptions of students' characteristics and needs; and teachers' perceptions of interviewing and the role of questioning in interviews. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Conceptualising Resources as a Theme for Teacher Education

In this report, I examine resources and their use in school mathematics. I do so from the perspective of mathematics teacher education and with a view to the practice of school mathematics. I argue that the effectiveness of resources for mathematical learning lies in their use, that is, in the classroom teaching and learning context. The argument pivots on the concepts of school mathematics as a hybrid practice and on the transparency of resources in use. These concepts are elaborated by examples of resource use within an in-service teacher education research project in South Africa. I propose that mathematics teacher education needs to focus more attention on resources, on what they are and how they work as an extension of the teacher in school mathematics practice. In so doing, the report provides a language with which mathematics teacher educators and mathematics teachers can investigate teachers' use of resources to support mathematical learning in particular and diverse contexts. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Adapting Reform Ideas in Different Mathematics Classrooms: Beliefs Beyond Mathematics

The goals of this study are to understandelementary school teachers' beliefs andpractices and to unveil factors that influencethe way teachers adapt mathematics reformrhetoric when trying to adopt it. In theresearch, I searched for beliefs beyondmathematics that influence teachers' decisionsand choices for teaching mathematics. Workingwith children from different socioeconomicbackgrounds, teachers interpret reform indifferent ways. Based on their concept of students' needs, teachers select which partsof the reform documents are appropriate fortheir students. While children from uppersocioeconomic backgrounds experience problemsolving, those from lower socioeconomicbackgrounds undergo rote learning. Because notall children have the opportunity to learn thesame quality mathematics, the emerging concernof this study is the issue of equity inmathematics teaching.     

The emerging of teachers' conceptions of new subjects inserted in mathematics programs: the case of informatics

The changes in mathematical curricula induced by the introduction of informatics in school represent the general framework of this research. In particular we focus on the teacher's role by analysing the different choices taken by mathematics teachers when faced with a curriculum reform induced by the introduction of informatics in secondary school courses (age 14–16). Our hypothesis is that these choices are the consequence of conceptions teachers have about informatics and its teaching in relation to the teaching of mathematics. Thus, through a case study research method, we focus on mathematics teachers' conceptions of informatics and its teaching. An attempt is made at outlining a typology of these conceptions, based on the different orientations identified.     

中学数学教师能力素质的调查与分析

合格的中学数学教师应具备的基本能力包括：较强的数学能力、基本的教学能力和一定的科研能力，中学数学教师能力强弱与高师数学教育专业的培养目标直接的关系，师范院校应转变观念，将培养师范生的能力素质作为数学教育改革的重要目标。     

当代优秀中学教师职业素质要素的调查研究

该调查目的是了解目前中学教师,中学生,师范生对当代优秀中学教师素质要素的认识,为构建当代优秀中学教师职业素质结构提供依据。调查结果表明,师生们认为中学优秀教师的首要素质是启发式教学能力,语言表达能力,其次是教师的教育信念和敬业,乐业,献身精神,再次是科学化素质,最后是教师的心理素质,身体素质。     

Preservice Teachers' Stories Of Mathematics Classrooms: Explorations Of Practice Through Fictional Accounts

This report describes four preservice secondary teachers' fictional accounts about mathematics classrooms. The narrative structures and meanings of the preservice teachers' stories, written while the preservice teachers were enrolled in a secondary methods course, were examined with the goal of gaining insight into the preservice teachers' emerging identities as mathematics teachers. Although past research has examined experienced teachers' stories, little research, if any, has focused on stories written by preservice mathematics teachers or on intentionally fictional stories about mathematics classrooms. This report uses methods of narrative analysis to develop understandings about preservice teachers' storied identities and specifies areas for further investigation into the role of narrative in mathematics teacher education.     

师范生数学教学技能认识的对比分析

师范生在职前教育中的认识,直接影响技能训练效果。2008年3月至5月,课题组调查了部分师范生和小学数学教师。在对调查结果进行分析的基础上,提出小学数学教师职前培养的若干建议。     

Reflective Reform in Mathematics: The Recursive Nature of Teacher Change

Historically, teachers have been criticized for verbalizing innovations while not acting on them. This study suggests that something more involved and complex may be happening as teachers move toward change. The study examined teachers' inner reflections and exterior manifestations as they participated in a mathematics reform effort. The article describes the analysis of three elementary mathematics teachers as they struggled with issues of reform and traditional teaching in relation to personal values and beliefs. Methods included observation, reflective dialogue, and group processes that took place over the course of a whole school year. Through careful analysis of the data, models evolved that describe how the participants mentally and experientially moved toward belief change. Intermediary steps included the teachers' use of visual images, verbalization, and experimentation. Findings revealed that the teachers devised personal, complex, internal and external feedback networks that integrated changes over time. Implications for future research are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Examining the supervision of mathematics student teachers through analysis of conference communications

Student teaching is often a capstone experience in the preparation of mathematics teachers. Thus, it is essential to better understand key aspects of the experience. We conducted a qualitative study of post-lesson conferences led by supervisors (classroom cooperating teachers and a university supervisor) working with mathematics student teachers. Analysis of conference communications revealed differences in the types and content of communications in conferences led by the cooperating teachers and by the university supervisor. Cooperating teachers tended toward evaluative supervision that lacked a focus on the mathematics of the lessons while the university supervisor tended toward educative supervision, guiding student teachers to reflect on and learn from their own classroom experiences including the mathematics of their lessons. Differences are discussed, and suggestions concerning the supervision of student teachers are made along with recommendations for further research.     

Providing school-based learning in elementary school mathematics: the case of a professional development school partnership

Abstract

School–university partnerships also known as professional development school (PDS) partnerships provide potential for universities and schools to establish partnerships that can benefit university faculty, school teachers, university students, and school students. This study examines the impact of a PDS partnership in which the author served as a school-based mathematics coach for two years in a high-need elementary school. Data sources included interviews, surveys, and field notes from classroom observations. Inductive qualitative analyses which were situated in a multi-level framework for researching professional development found that teachers posed more cognitively demanding mathematical tasks and high-level questions in year two compared to year one of this project. Further, student achievement was noted on both state-wide and district-created assessments. Also teachers reported that the school-based approach to professional development led to some teachers taking on more informal leadership roles to support their colleagues’ mathematics instruction. Implications for school-based learning opportunities across the world include the need to establish specific university–school partnerships, and carefully designing research studies to examine the impact of these learning opportunities.     

School–University Action Research: Impacts on Teaching Practices and Pupil Learning

The aim of this article is to describe a design and implementation of a school–university action research project about teaching and learning biology and mathematics in primary school. Nine teachers in grades 1 to 6, in collaboration with two researchers, were using content representation (CoRe) in learning study (LS)-inspired cycle as pedagogical tools when planning, implementing, and reflecting on lessons and pupil learning. By using pre- and post-tests, the teachers acquired knowledge about pupil subject-specific knowledge and learning. Some examples are given on how the tools in the project influenced the teaching practices and pupil learning. This research design brought together university and school practitioners to work collaboratively in a professional learning community, which developed teaching and learning in biology and mathematics.     

特殊教育学校数学教师知识结构:现状、成因及对策研究

通过问卷、听课、访谈调查,了解特殊教育学校数学教师知识掌握情况。统计结果表明,特殊教育学校数学教师对知识的掌握程度依次为数学知识、教育学与心理学知识(两者之间没有显著性差异)、其它知识。与普通小学数学教师知识掌握情况进行对比,在数学基础理论、数学思想方法、数学新课程和教学、数学学习认知与心理等方面的知识有显著性差异,知识结构欠合理,深度与广度上存在明显缺失。特殊教育学校数学教师应树立终生教育的理念,顺应特殊教育课程改革的需要,在知识发展的目标、内容、方式、保障机制等方面制定对策,以促进知识的发展。     

中学教师职业倦怠特点研究

以340名中学教师为研究对象,以"教师职业倦怠问卷"为研究工具,对教师职业倦怠问题进行了研究。研究发现,中学教师职业倦怠并不严重,成就感较高,中学女教师情感枯竭维度显著高于男教师,专科组教师情感枯竭维度与成就感维度均显著高于本科组教师,教龄因素对职业倦怠各维度均有非常显著的作用。     

新疆小学数学中青年骨干教师自治区级首次培训者情况调查研究

本文中为了帮助培养和进一步提高小学数学教师队伍素质,主要对新疆小学数学中青年骨干教师自治区级首次集中培训者的情况进行了初步的调查研究,并提出了自己的意见和建议,该调查研究将会为今后的教师培训,以及相关科研提供较好的理论依据。