Sixty-two elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods course were asked to "draw math" at the beginning and end of the semester. These drawings were used to examine the initial perceptions and how these changed by the end of the semester of methods and field experiences. Findings describe the various drawings and possible…

The role of a teacher is different from that in traditional mathematics instruction when the implementation of a lesson is based on students' ideas. The author's experience teaching the same lesson (of the latter format) to two different classes of pre-service teachers in an elementary mathematics methods course is described. Since whole-class…

With a national need to improve Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education (STEM), elementary pre-service teachers must be provided with ample opportunities to increase their own knowledge and confidence in STEM disciplines. This article describes a Math Block experience developed for a special population of non-traditional…

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…

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 study compared content knowledge for teaching mathematics differences between elementary pre-service teachers in a traditional versus an experimental mathematics methods course. The experimental course replaced 20 minutes of traditional methods, each class, with an intervention of elementary mathematics content. The difference between groups…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics calls for students to see relationships and connections with mathematics (2000). This study examined the influences on eight pre-service elementary school teachers' beliefs and knowledge of teaching mathematics through literature. The semester long project involved both the language arts and…

Preservice elementary teachers have been shown to generally possess poor mathematical knowledge (e.g. Goulding, Rowland, & Barber, 2002) and also strong negative attitudes toward mathematics (e.g. MacNab & Payne, 2004). Recently, national organizations have proposed interventions to address these issues (Conference Board of the Mathematical…

A mediating approach is implemented into a section of Block I courses elementary pre-service teachers took in a cohort setting in Spring 2002. The paper discusses the components of the approach as well as the logistics of the initial implementation. Furthermore, the paper provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of a set of data gathered…

This study describes a classroom action research activity regarding a group of elementary school teacher candidates' perceptions of good mathematics problems. A questionnaire containing 20 problems was given, and the candidates were asked to rate the quality of each problem on a 5-point scale. The results revealed that the majority of the teacher…

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…