Collaborative Research: Online Collaboration to Understand Preservice Teachers' Developing MKT

教师教育教师从四个不同的机构（犹他州，西弗吉尼亚大学，米尔斯学院，和圣彼得堡学院）正在与数学论坛合作，研究数学知识教学（MKT）的发展在小学职前教师（PT）谁参加在线数学辅导经验。 这项研究正在调查的保留和应用这些知识在PT的学生在外地教学经验。 教师，沿着与他们的PT，正在学习使用虚拟实地考察序列（VFS），一套结构化的在线模块，支持PT与年级水平的数学工作，确定学生的优势，并提供反馈给“活”的学生在线。专业发展模式的一个关键因素及其独特性的很大一部分是教师正在反思和分析数据，并描述他们的试点研究结果，包括VFS对学生MKT的影响。 这项工作预计将产生重要的研究结果，通过调查如何MKT可能进一步发展的副教师的学习。该项目采用在职的方法来参与教师的专业发展，以前的研究表明，这是一个战略，在促进教学实践的变化是显着的。其中一项成果是一个在线专业发展模块，该模块是协作的，定位的，并侧重于发展副教师的MKT。 参与的学生是非传统的、代表性不足的少数族裔、第一代大学生。该项目对本科STEM学生教师的教学方法和学生的MKT都有影响，这两个领域目前都被认为是STEM教育需要改进的领域。

Teacher education faculty from four diverse institutions (Utah State, West Virginia University, Mills College, and St. Petersburg College) are collaborating with the Math Forum to study the development of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) in elementary Preservice Teachers (PTs) who participate in online mathematics mentoring experiences. The study is investigating the retention and application of this knowledge during the PTs' student teaching experiences in the field. Faculty, along with their PTs, are learning to use the Virtual Fieldwork Sequence (VFS), a structured set of online modules that supports PTs to work with grade level mathematics, identify student strengths, and provide feedback to "live" students on-line. A key element of the professional development model and a large part of its uniqueness is that the faculty are reflecting on and analyzing the data and describing the findings from their pilot study, including the impact of the VFS on student MKT. The work is expected to yield significant findings concerning the learning of preservice teachers by investigating how MKT might be further developed. The project adopts an on-the-job approach to the professional development of the involved faculty, a strategy that prior research has shown to be significant in promoting change in teaching practices. One of the outcomes is an on-line professional development module that is collaborative, situated, and focused on developing preservice teachers' MKT. The students involved are non-traditional, underrepresented minority, first-generation college students. The project has an impact on both the teaching approaches of faculty of undergraduate STEM students and the students' MKT both of which are currently recognized as areas of STEM education needing improvement.