Mathematicians and Mathematics Educators Collaborating on Capstone Courses for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

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Mathematical Sciences (21). Recommendations from The Mathematical Education of Teachers (CBMS, 2001) include statements that mathematics departments should support the design, development, and implementation of capstone courses for teachers in which conceptual ideas of high school mathematics are examined from an advanced standpoint. It is also recommended that such courses should be taught through a collaboration of mathematics and mathematics education faculty. For this project instructional materials for a capstone course for pre-service secondary mathematics teachers are being developed. This builds on a pilot course developed and implemented by the project team in 2003-2004. The instructional materials are designed and developed to enrich students' learning experiences in the course in three ways: (1) to illustrate connections between secondary and college mathematics, (2) to provide students with more opportunities to engage in active learning than the textbook currently supports, and (3) to incorporate examples of secondary school students' mathematical thinking.In addition to the development of materials, research is being conducted with respect to team-teaching of capstone courses by mathematicians and mathematics educators. The impact of capstone course on student learning is being measured, and the project team also is studying the effects of the capstone experience on the faculty who teach the courses.Intellectual merit. The intellectual merit lies in the research and measurement of the impact on learning of secondary mathematics education students in a capstone course. The research is contributing to the knowledge base related to teacher preparation in mathematics.Broader impacts. The research is advancing the knowledge base and understanding of STEM education and how students learn. The materials are being beta-tested, and materials and research results are being made available to the mathematics and mathematics education communities via publications, presentations, workshops and a website.