Given the centrality of angle in mathematics curricula and scarcity of research in this area, we investigated 64 PTs' assimilatory domains of angularity by analyzing the angles they indicated when presented with four segments mutually sharing an endpoint. In both interview and written settings, we found PTs were more likely to recognize convex…

This paper examines the possibilities of designing a formative assessment that gathers information about novice elementary teachers' skills with modeling content and makes sense of such information. A decomposition of the practice of modeling content was developed and used to design the assessment. Participants included ten first-year teachers who…

While the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice are a focal point of K-12 mathematics education, there is limited research examining how future teachers' (e.g., undergraduate students, teacher candidates) develop their conceptions of these standards. We investigate how opportunities within a mathematics-focused bridge course within…

This paper reports on a study of learners' use of immersive spatial diagrams to make arguments about three-dimensional geometric figures. Immersive spatial diagrams allow learners to use the movement of their bodies to control their point of view, while immersed in three-dimensional digital renderings. We present analysis of two pairs of…

Fraction proficiency continues to be a challenge for many learners of mathematics. Valid and reliable methods for assessing fraction understanding are critical tools in the pursuit of meeting this challenge. Written assessments have been widely used with K-12 students to assess fraction understanding, including units coordination. However, using…

Multiplication and division are vital topics in upper level elementary school. A teacher's pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) influences both instruction and students' learning. However, there is currently little research examining teachers' PCK within this domain, particularly regarding professional education of future teachers. To help address…

We introduce a methodology for diagramming the ways students use sequences of mental actions to solve mathematical tasks. We studied 12 pre-service teachers as they solved a set of fractions tasks, ranked by cognitive demand. We present the unit transformation graphs for one of those pre-service teachers, to illustrate how she experienced and met…

Increasingly, mathematics is being positioned as a tool to support students' understandings of social (in)justice and their own unique social positioning in the world. To this end, this study analyzes the impact of curricular reform efforts in an elementary mathematics content course. The course focused on fractions and statistics, and the course…

This research report describes a study that explored the intersections of professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking (PN), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and affective domains with preservice elementary teachers (PSETs). An instructional module on professional noticing, as defined by Jacobs, Lamb, and Philipp (2010), included…

As a component of a course on geometry for preservice elementary teachers (PSTs), we derive area formulas for a variety of polygons including triangles, quadrilaterals, and both regular and irregular shapes whose areas can be measured empirically using decomposition. Decomposing a circle to justify why its area can be measured using the standard…

This paper examines the implementation of an instructional module on Preservice Elementary Teachers' (PSETs) professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking as defined by Jacobs, Lamb, and Philipp (2010). The module focuses on professional noticing skills through the content focus of early algebraic reasoning and uses complex video…

This paper represents research that exists at the crossroad of scholarly practice and scholarly inquiry. We share the design, enactment and empirical examination of an elementary methods course activity, Exploring and Supporting Student Thinking (ESST) which engaged 18 prospective teachers in two sessions of one on one problem posing with 3rd…

This mixed-methods study examines effects of implementing a mock edTPA task on prospective elementary teachers' perceptions of teaching effectiveness. Results from the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument document a significant change in participants' beliefs that they can effectively teach mathematics. Qualitative results illuminate…

This project examines how prospective elementary teachers (PSTs) framed the idea of drawing on multiple mathematical knowledge bases (MMKB)--children's mathematical thinking and funds of knowledge--for diverse learners, in the context of adapting curriculum. We analyzed 47 written reflections of PSTs' analyses of an existing mathematics…

This study explored the problem solving experience of pre-service teachers in finding the greatest common factor and the least common multiple using many different approaches. In particular, it examined the effect of pre-service teachers' mathematics content knowledge on how they chose their preferred approach and how they valued the most…