ERIC Number: EJ757649
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jun
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: N/A
Preservice Elementary Teachers' Voices Describe How Their Teacher Motivated Them to Do Mathematics
Harkness, Shelly Sheats; D'ambrosio, Beatriz; Morrone, Anastasia S.
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v65 n2 p235-254 Jun 2007
In this study, data in the form of (preservice teacher) "student voices" taken from mathematical autobiographies, written at the beginning of the semester, and end-of-semester reflections, were analyzed in order to examine why preservice elementary school teachers were highly motivated in a social constructivist mathematics course in which the teacher emphasized mastery goals. The findings suggest that students entered the course with a wide variety of feelings about mathematics and their own mathematical ability. At the end of the semester, students wrote about aspects of the course that "led to their growth as a mathematical thinker and as a mathematics teacher..." Student responses were coded within themes that emerged from the data: Struggle; Construction of meaning [mathematical language; mathematical understanding]; Grouping [working in groups]; Change [self-efficacy; math self-concept]; and the Teacher's Role. These themes are described using "student voices" and within a motivation goal theory framework. The role of struggle, in relation to motivation, is discussed.
Descriptors: Mathematics Education, Elementary School Teachers, Self Efficacy, Preservice Teachers, Constructivism (Learning), Autobiographies, Student Teacher Attitudes, Student Motivation, Mastery Learning, Self Concept, Teacher Role
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A