This article reports an investigation into how students of a mathematics course for prospective secondary mathematics teachers in England talk about the notion of "understanding mathematics in depth", which was an explicit goal of the course. We interviewed eighteen students of the course. Through our social practice frame and in the…

In the past decade, research on learning trajectories has progressed from an agenda for research on student learning to include an agenda for research on teaching. In this paper, we use a design experiment to examine a professional development program created to support teacher learning of one learning trajectory. Using a re-interpretation of Ball…

Prospective secondary mathematics teachers' pedagogical knowledge for teaching the estimation of length measurements was investigated by examining their personal benchmarks for measurement estimation. Benchmarks for measurement estimation are the meaningful representations of units that serve to increase one's understanding of…

As part of a larger research project aimed at transforming preK-8 mathematics teacher preparation, the purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which prospective teachers notice children's competencies related to children's mathematical thinking, and children's community, cultural, and linguistic funds of knowledge or what…

Based on findings from a semester-long study, this article examines the development of Samoan prospective teachers' mathematical understandings and mathematics attitudes when investigating authentic contexts and applying working mathematically processes, mental computations and problem-solving strategies to find solutions of problems. The…

This article is based on a project that investigated teachers' knowledge in teaching an important aspect of algebra in the middle years of schooling--functions, relations and joint variation. As part of the project, 105 upper primary teachers were surveyed during their participation in Contemporary Teaching and Learning of Mathematics, a…

Although emerging consensus exists that practice-based approaches to teacher preparation assist in closing the distance between university coursework and fieldwork experiences and in assuring that future teachers learn to implement innovative research-based instructional strategies, little empirical research has investigated teacher learning from…

Recent research efforts (Schmidt et al. in "The preparation gap: teacher education for middle school mathematics in six countries," MSU Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education, 2007) demonstrate that teacher development programs in high-performing countries offer experiences that are designed to develop both mathematical…

This study describes teacher learning in a teaching experiment consisting of a content-focused methods course involving the mathematical knowledge for teaching function. Prospective and practicing teachers in the course showed growth in their ability to define function, to provide examples of functions and link them to the definition, in the…

The primary school mathematics curriculum in Ireland is based upon a constructivist philosophy of learning. As constructivism is a theory of learning and not teaching, implementing a constructivist approach in the classroom requires teachers to identify the implications and applications of constructivist philosophy for teaching. In this research,…

This longitudinal study examines growth in teacher knowledge as measured by two popular assessments--Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) and Diagnostic Teacher Assessments in Mathematics and Science (DTAMS). Using data collected from 24 teachers, we compare the extent to which each assessment captured teacher learning during a K-8 mathematics…

This paper reports on a study that focused on growth of understanding about teaching geometry by a group of prospective teachers engaged in lesson plan study within a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Participation in the activity was found to facilitate considerable growth in the participants' pedagogical-content…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the development of three prospective elementary mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of number patterns with its two components: (1) knowledge of students' understanding and difficulties and (2) knowledge of topic-specific strategies and representations. For our investigation, we use…

The relationship between primary teachers' subject knowledge and their approaches to teaching is an ongoing concern. This study reviews the relationship between prospective teachers' subject knowledge in the topic of area and their approaches to teaching that topic. The research presents case studies of four primary prospective teachers on a…

The use of computers and technology in mathematics education affects students' learning, achievements, and affective dimensions. This study explores prospective Turkish primary mathematics teachers' views about the use of computers in mathematics education. The sample comprised of 129 fourth-year prospective primary mathematics teachers from two…