ERIC Number: EJ980697
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 42
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1386-4416
Why New Mathematics Teachers Do or Don't Use Practices Emphasized in Their Credential Program
Gainsburg, Julie
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, v15 n5 p359-379 Oct 2012
A major research concern for teacher education is the impact of university credentialing programs on K-12 teaching and the disjuncture between university-promoted practices and what teachers actually do in their classrooms. In particular, mathematics-credential programs typically promote reform-oriented methods, while mathematics teaching in the US remains largely traditional. Proposed explanations for the limited uptake of university-promoted mathematics-teaching methods have included new teachers' struggle to bridge the "two worlds" of the university and school, the relative difficulty of reform-oriented teaching, and the failure of the standard teacher-preparation model that teaches general pedagogical concepts prior to specific teaching tools and practices. In this study, interviews of 19 first- through 4th-year secondary-level mathematics teachers--graduates of a single credential program--investigated the factors, internal and external to the credential program, that these teachers perceived to support or impede their implementation of certain university-taught practices. The findings are used to examine previously proposed explanations for limited uptake, and recommendations are made for credential programs and employing schools.
Descriptors: Credentials, Teaching Methods, Educational Change, Mathematics Teachers, Preservice Teacher Education, Conventional Instruction, Transfer of Training, Mathematics Instruction, Beginning Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Interviews
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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