Ji-Eun Lee , Danielle Ligocki

DOI: Vol.23(No.4) 181-217, 2020

This study explores how pre-service teachers (PSTs) view, interpret, and utilize non-textual elements (NTEs) in mathematics curriculum. Fifty-two PSTs, who enrolled in a mathematics methods course at a Midwestern university in the U.S., engaged in a three-part task that consisted of evaluations and modifications of NTEs in the sample mathematics curriculum materials. We ascertain what PSTs consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of NTEs, how they define the primary goals of NTEs, and how they would work to modify or adapt existing NTEs with effective teaching in mind. By using the Curricular Noticing Framework, we can better understand how PSTs recognize opportunities within mathematics curriculum and gain a deeper understanding regarding how PSTs’ prior experiences may affect their curricular-attending habits, which has consequences for their future teaching. Findings indicate that PSTs understand NTEs to be simply a support for traditional mathematics curriculum, rather than tools on their own. Also, they tend to prefer NTEs that are familiar to them. From our findings, we draw implications for teacher educators who support PSTs’ interpretation and utilization of NTEs.

non-textual elements, mathematical representations, pictorial illustrations, curricular noticing, pre-service teacher education

Byungeun Pak

DOI: Vol.23(No.4) 219-233, 2020

Teachers’ intervention in small groups is a research area that needs more research attention. Ehrenfeld and Horn (2020) identified teachers’ group work monitoring routines that consist of four recurrent talk moves: 1) Initiation, 2) Entry, 3) Focus, and 4) Exit. To better understand prospective teachers’ (PTs) intervention in small groups in mathematics classrooms, I investigated how PTs’ intervention actions and purposes are related to the monitoring routines, particularly, in terms of Focus moves. I analyzed 26 PTs’ responses to four written scenarios, each of which depicts interactions among students in a small group. I identified 1) types of PTs’ math talk, 2) types of PTs’ non-math talk, 3) types of intervention purposes, and 4) patterns of intervention actions and purposes by scenario. This study contributes to understanding PTs’ intervention actions and purposes in mathematics instruction.

intervention in small groups, teachers’ group work monitoring routines, prospective teachers, mathematics instruction

Seong-A Kim , Sun Hee Lee

DOI: Vol.23(No.4) 235-254, 2020

Through this study, we aimed to capture the nature of a mathematics method course, called “the Curriculum Development and Teaching Methods in Mathematics Education” which is a pedagogy course for teaching for secondary school mathematics taught at a university located in a south eastern part of South Korea. The research participants include three junior students who took the methods course and a local high school math teacher with two professors. The research has three parts. First, we designed a method course to prepare the junior or senior students for a teaching practicum. The individual students gave a mini lecture about a secondary mathematical topic as a course requirement. Second, the three students watched a classroom video-clip of the high school teacher and analyzed his instruction before the actual classroom visits. Furthermore, by “Let’s Learn” program for students, the course was associated with a local community through the students and so that they could visit the teacher’s classroom three times to observe his math classroom teaching. The students discussed the difference between their own mini lectures and the actual math classroom teaching to develop an understanding of what it entails to teach an actual math class. Third, the first author supervised the students’ activities in the program including their report for it to bring out their findings to the class of the method course. We found out this method course provided the students with the experience of various aspects of actual math lesson as well as learning theories about the pedagogy for teaching for secondary school mathematics. We conclude that this course gives a model for the method course in mathematics education for secondary school mathematics.

teaching practicum, components of lesson, pedagogical content knowledge