Understanding the Effects of Mathematics Teacher Preparation on the Quality of Classroom Teaching and Students' Learning

美国教育中最紧迫的问题之一是如何提供更有效的学校数学教学。当今教育学院面临的一个主要问题是，他们的教师培训项目是否以及如何在解决这一问题方面发挥作用。这一领域缺乏能够让教师教育者和政策制定者了解数学教师准备过程中影响初任教师实践性质和学生学习质量的关键变量的研究。该项目由教育与学习研究项目资助，基于经验证据表明，K-8教师在数学方面的准备可以在毕业生的教学知识和技能的性质和深度以及他们的实际教学实践方面产生实质性的差异。研究人员将研究K-8数学教师准备的细节、毕业生课堂教学的性质和质量以及学生学习的性质之间的联系。该项目采用纵向设计，跟踪一组从数学教师准备过渡到头两年课堂教学的教师，将确定准备计划的细节，使课堂数学教学有效，并影响学生的学习。该项目将有助于(1)完善数学教师准备、教学实践和学生学习之间联系的理论，以及(2)检验这些变量之间联系的关键假设的实证数据。有待检验的假设包括：(a)在教师准备中使用的帮助未来教师获得对数学和教育学的概念性理解的教学方法，类似于用于帮助发展数学概念性理解的教学方法，会影响初任教师教学实践的性质；(b)专注于将数学分解为可用的知识，例如，通过问题的多种表示和解决方法，将在毕业生的教学和学生的学习方面产生明显的改善；(c)未来教师需要一个学习数学主题的强度阈值，以便内化这些知识，然后利用这些知识来计划和实施高质量的主题课程。这项纵向研究将跟踪所有本科教师准备计划的高年级学生，大约120名职前教师，进入他们的第一年教学。结合调查、课堂观察和学生成绩测量，该项目将使用案例研究和准实验影响测试相结合的混合方法研究来检验这些假设。

One of the most urgent problems in U.S. education is how to provide more effective teaching in school mathematics. A major question facing Schools of Education today is whether and how their teacher preparation programs matter in addressing this problem. The field lacks research that would inform teacher educators and policy makers about critical variables in mathematics teacher preparation that influence the nature of beginning teachers' practices and the quality of students' learning. This project, funded through the Research on Education and Learning program, builds on empirical evidence that K-8 teacher preparation in mathematics can make a substantial difference in the nature and depth of graduates' knowledge and skills for teaching as well as their actual teaching practices. The researchers will study the links among details of K-8 mathematics teacher preparation, the nature and quality of graduates' classroom teaching, and the nature of their students' learning. Using a longitudinal design following a cohort of teachers as they transition from mathematics teacher preparation into their first two years of classroom teaching, the project will identify the details of the preparation program that enable effective classroom mathematics teaching and influence students' learning. This project will contribute to (1) refined theory that connects mathematics teacher preparation, teaching practice, and student learning, and (2) empirical data that test key hypotheses regarding the links among these variables. Hypotheses to be tested include: (a) instructional approaches used in teacher preparation that help prospective teachers acquire conceptual understanding of both mathematics and pedagogy similar to those used to help develop conceptual understanding of mathematics influence the nature of beginning teachers' instructional practice; (b) a focus on unpacking the mathematics into usable knowledge through, for example, multiple representations of problems and solution methods, will yield detectable improvements in graduates' teaching and their students' learning; and (c) a threshold of intensity in studying a mathematical topic is needed for prospective teachers to internalize and then later use this knowledge to plan and implement high quality lessons on the topic. This longitudinal study will follow all seniors in an undergraduate teacher preparation program, approximately 120 preservice teachers, into their first years of teaching. Using a combination of surveys, classroom observations, and measures of student achievement, the project will test the hypotheses using a mixed method study combining case studies and quasi-experimental tests of impact.