IMPLEMENTING COLLEGE AND CAREER STANDARDS IN MATH METHODS COURSE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD AND ELEMENTARY EDUCATION TEACHER CANDIDATES

This study is purposed to measure the efficacy of implementing College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) math standards into math methods courses for early childhood and elementary education teacher candidates at an urban university located in the Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex area. A total of 161 college seniors (teacher candidates) enrolled in the mathematics methods courses for early childhood and elementary education participated in this study. The results showed that incorporating CCRS into the math methods courses was successful as shown by the significant findings between pre- and post-assessments in both skills- and knowledge-associated items. Although only two items were found to be significant between pre- and post-assessments on disposition, teacher candidates showed higher scores in pre-assessments on disposition compared to skills- and knowledge-associated items.