This study describes a series of latent class analyses used to classify pre-service teachers based on their responses to questions on a survey regarding their attitudes and beliefs about mathematics. Results identified the pre-service teachers with the most positive attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics. Belief measures regarding confidence,…

We investigate mathematics anxiety amongst education majors currently enrolled as pre-service teachers in special education, deaf and hard of hearing, early childhood and elementary education. The impact of a compulsory freshmen content course and sophomore methodology course on mathematics anxiety for each education major was studied over a two…

This case study examines the ways in which a teacher education program develops prospective teachers who implement the principles of constructing mathematical knowledge via a learning discourse. The study presents and analyzes a mathematical discourse in a 4th grade class as well as the feedback conversation of prospective teachers with their…

In response to research documenting the mathematical deficiencies of pre-service elementary teachers, many teacher preparation programs are requiring mathematical content courses specifically focusing on the mathematics taught at the elementary level. This study considers what impact two such courses (one course focusing on Arithmetic, and the…

Twenty-three female elementary pre-service teachers were assessed on their ability to answer questions involving geometry concepts. Despite being given the definitions of the altitude of a triangle and the diagonal of a polygon on the pretest, limited understanding of these concepts was evident. A treatment using both graphic organizer and concept…

Fifty-two exceptional education pre-service teachers getting a K-6 endorsement were involved in this study that investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety before and after a mathematics methods course for education majors. The changes were measured with respect to the use of manipulatives and other activities to make mathematics…

This descriptive study investigated preservice teachers' understanding of the properties and relationships among parallelograms. Forty preservice teachers in a pre-methods mathematics course for elementary education provided written descriptions of the terms rectangle and rhombus. These responses were sorted into categories according to…

Preservice elementary teachers need to be given the experiences of integrating mathematics with other subjects. They need to go into the classroom with the understanding that mathematics is not an isolated topic. This article describes a paper airplane activity that was presented in a class of preservice elementary education teachers to show how…