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在学校数学中提供更有效的教学。当今教育学校面临的一个主要问题是，他们的教师准备计划是否以及如何在解决这个问题方面发挥作用。该领域缺乏研究，将告知教师教育者和决策者关于数学教师准备的关键变量，影响初任教师的做法和学生的学习质量的性质。该项目通过教育和学习研究计划资助，建立在经验证据的基础上，即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重大影响。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，跟踪一批教师从数学教师准备过渡到前两年的课堂教学，将确定准备计划的细节，使有效的课堂数学教学和影响学生的学习。该项目将有助于（1）将数学教师准备、教学实践和学生学习联系起来的精炼理论，以及（2）测试有关这些变量之间联系的关键假设的经验数据。有待检验的假设包括：（a）在教师准备中使用的教学方法，帮助未来的教师获得数学和教育学的概念理解，类似于那些用来帮助发展数学概念理解的教学方法，影响初任教师的教学实践的性质;（B）侧重于通过例如问题和解决方法的多种表示将数学解包成可用的知识，会对毕业生的教学和学生的学习带来明显的改善;及（c）在研究一个数学课题时，需要有一个强度的门槛，让准教师能够内化这些知识，然后利用这些知识来计划和实施有关该课题的高质量课程。这项纵向研究将跟踪本科教师准备计划中的所有高年级学生，大约120名副教授，进入他们的第一年教学。使用调查，课堂观察和学生成绩的措施相结合，该项目将使用混合方法研究结合案例研究和准实验测试的影响来测试假设。

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.