Current debates about successful mathematics pedagogy suggest that mathematical learning and problem solving can be enhanced by using metaphors as they provide students with a tool for thinking. But assisting pre-service teachers to understand the importance of careful and accurate explanations for mathematical concepts remains an issue. This…

The practice of lesson study, a professional development model originating in Japan, aligns well with recommendations from research for teacher professional development. Lesson study is also an inductive research method that uncovers student thinking and, in parallel, grants teacher-educators the opportunity to study teachers' thinking about…

I argue in this article that identity as a mathematical thinker develops through self-directed learning within a supportive community of practice. The dynamic nature of identity as a mathematical thinker is illustrated by considering the experiences of primary pre-service teachers who undertook a mathematics and technology subject in their…

In New South Wales the focus on assessment "for" learning requires teachers to consider carefully the alignment between assessment, curriculum, and pedagogy. This emerging agenda in teacher education seeks to ensure that assessment practices provide advice to teachers about what students know and where teaching might be directed to enhance…

Examines ways of establishing a learning environment that encourages and supports students' mathematical thinking. Describes a 15-year experienced teacher's personal journey over a two-year period and the changes the teacher experienced in beliefs about how students learn mathematics. Stresses the importance of reflection on student learning in…

Examines the classroom practice and beliefs of two novice elementary teachers during their first year of teaching and the first year of their involvement in a district-wide professional development project. Analyzes the challenges faced by the novice teachers and the professional developer who worked with them. Discusses the effects of teachers'…

Introduces and reflects on recent developments in German elementary teacher education programs with respect to a "listening" orientation towards mathematics teaching. Focuses on student teachers' professional learning processes while they collect, collectively interpret, and analyze qualitative data from primary classroom episodes in which…

Presents the case of a year long course based on fieldwork activities provided to secondary school mathematics preservice teachers just before their student teaching practicum. Argues that fieldwork experiences may help prospective teachers in developing a professional discourse and in assuming a professional identity. (Author/MM)

Summarizes and critiques research on the role of mathematics content knowledge in the preparation and teaching practice of elementary (K-8) teachers in the United States. Calls for future research to give us longitudinal "videotapes" of teachers' knowledge and how it is developed and used in a variety of contexts. (Author/MM)

Highlights the issues raised with regard to preservice teacher confidence, attitude and course provision by the decision to expose them to deficits in their content knowledge at the beginning of their training period. (Author/MM)

Discusses the nature of the current emphasis on numeracy in Australian teacher training. Describes the rationale, development and delivery of the first year of the "Numeracy Across the Curriculum" unit, provides a brief evaluation from the perspective of staff and students, and discusses what impact such teacher education programs might have on…

Describes a professional development program for secondary school mathematics teachers in which the focus of the program is mathematical definition. The program aimed to develop teachers' subject matter knowledge including knowledge of the substance of mathematics and knowledge about the nature and discourse of mathematics. (Author/MM)

Examines some reasons for the gap between teacher education and school practices, a potential conflict between teacher educator's views and pre-service teacher's own views of their learning, and negligence in examining the discourses within which educational practices are constituted. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/ASK)

Reports the data from 242 beginning student teachers in New Zealand about their feelings/attitudes toward mathematics, and from 166 of them regarding their understanding of mathematics. Indicates that a significant proportion of the students have deeply negative feelings/attitudes and lack understanding of relatively simple mathematics. (Contains…