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Declining enrollments in teacher preparation programs across the United States signal a critical need for institutions of higher education to consider innovative recruitment initiatives. This pilot study investigates a novel approach to recruiting undergraduates into a teacher preparation program. Nine participants, mostly first-year college students, engaged in a year-long experiential learning program. The program provided participants with an early teaching experience in a classroom-like setting by engaging them in the collaborative development, planning, and teaching of mathematics in a summer camp for high school students. Data were collected throughout the year on their: planned major, attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics education, mathematics teaching self-efficacy, and perceptions of the program. Results showed the program was successful at improving attitudes, increasing self-efficacy, and stimulating reflection on a potential career as a mathematics teacher. Participants also shared positive impressions of the experience. Implications for research and future practice are discussed.
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Revealing Teacher Knowledge Through Making: A Case Study of Two Prospective Mathematics Teachers
We describe an experience within mathematics teacher preparation that engages pre-service teachers of mathematics (PMTs) in Making and design practices that we hypothesized would inform their conceptual, curricular, and pedagogical thinking. With a focus on the design of new tools that can generate new possibilities for mathematics teaching and learning, this Learning by Design experience has PMTs exploring at the intersection of content, pedagogy, and Making. We describe the forms of knowledge brought to bear on their experiences through a case study analysis of one pair of PMTs’ Making experience. As the advancement of these forms of knowledge is essential to effective mathematics teaching, these findings suggest the promise of a Making experience within mathematics teacher preparation
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- Award ID(s):
- 1812887
- PAR ID:
- 10182433
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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