Since the prevalence of data and statistics in the media and workplace has greatly increased over the past few decades, the teaching of statistics in K-12 grades has also increased. This necessitates that teachers be ready to teach statistical concepts throughout the grade levels. The recently adopted Common Core State Standards for Mathematics…

The current study investigated the effects of an undergraduate mathematics content course for pre-service elementary teachers. The participants' content knowledge was quantitatively measured using an instrument comprised of items from the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Measures (Hill, Schilling, & Ball, 2004). Using a one-group…

In this paper the authors present three design principles they use to develop preservice teachers' mathematical content knowledge for teaching in their mathematics content and/or methods courses: (1) building on currently held conceptions, (2) modeling teaching for understanding, (3) focusing on connections between content knowledge and other…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of special education and general education teachers' mathematical skill and perception of competence. The participants (n=206) were current (n-32) or future (n=174) elementary (K-6) and middle level (4-8) general and special education teachers enrolled in two major state universities in the…

Problem solving tasks offer valuable opportunities to strengthen prospective elementary teachers' knowledge of and disposition toward mathematics, providing them with new experiences doing mathematics. Mathematics educators can influence future instruction by modeling effective pedagogical strategies that engage students in making sense of…

An exploratory research approach is used to characterize the experience of two second year high school mathematics teachers in their teacher preparation programs: one graduated from a four-year undergraduate program while the other graduated from a fifth-year masters program. The two main forms of data collection included interviews and document…

Reform in secondary mathematics education has created changes regarding how to educate teachers. It is time to check the result of such changes. This study provides a snapshot look at the commonalities of ten pre-service teachers in regards to their mathematics knowledge and their attitudes about mathematics and mathematics education. Four themes…

A two year study investigating the state of pre-service teachers' (PTs') (n=224), teachers' (n=18) and students' knowledge (n=123) of Grade 7 geometry (using the van Hiele theory (1986) and acquisition scales of Gutierrez, Jaime & Fortuny (1991)) is reported. Results indicate that both teachers and PTs fail to reach the expected level of geometric…

The purpose of this research was to determine the pre-service primary mathematics teachers' competency of pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics. The data were collected by means of four open ended problems from the participation of 45 primary mathematics teacher candidates. Teacher candidates' responses were analyzed based on pre-determined…

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…

Student achievement and attitudes toward mathematics are influenced by the teacher, emphasizing the importance of quality teacher preparation. This study explored different preparations and the impact on pre-service teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. The sample included 96 pre-service teachers enrolled in a math course at one Midwestern…

The purpose of the present study was to present examples of the utilization of social processes such as teacher questioning and collective argumentation coupled with an appropriate use of a manipulative material to stimulate students' thinking in teaching geometry. We first present theoretical issues concerning the use of manipulatives, teacher…

Three key features of a proposed capstone mathematics course for the preparation of teachers at the secondary level are: 1) teacher candidates examine concepts from the curriculum at a deeper level in the context of rich problems; 2) they investigate common themes in the math curriculum, such as shape and change, then collaborate on and present…

Alarming studies indicating a lack of mathematical knowledge among elementary educators has led to increases in the number of mathematics courses required in teacher preparation programs. This study examines the impact newly required mathematics courses had on teacher candidates' beliefs regarding mathematics content and pedagogy in a large,…