Search

This qualitative study examines the information collected about applicants to mathematics or science teacher preparation programs (MSTPPs) and how university faculty perceive and value this information in admissions decisions. Based on document review and interviews with MSTPP faculty and admissions directors, we found that broad measures of mathematics and science content background (e.g., achievement test scores, past mathematics and science courses taken) were used more frequently than information on applicants-specific mathematics and science content knowledge and dispositions. In many cases, application components (such as interviews and personal essay statements) were perceived by faculty to be conducive to surfacing applicants-content knowledge and dispositions; however, they were not constructed or employed in a way that afforded the obtainment of this information. We highlight salient examples of MSTPPs-collection and use of information related to mathematics and science and discuss implications for TPP admissions processes.

Mathematical modeling is a high-leverage topic; it is critical to students' participation in STEM education and supports civic engagement. Until recently, research on modeling at the elementary level has been underemphasized, particularly research on supports and challenges for teachers who engage in designing authentic modeling tasks. In this study, we employed qualitative case study methods to investigate how elementary teachers designed and implemented authentic mathematical modeling tasks, with an explicit focus on how their tasks evidenced different dimensions of authenticity. We analyzed three cases of teams of elementary teachers as they developed modeling tasks connected to school and community contexts. The three cases were: 1) a student-driven modeling task related to paper and plastic waste in a school cafeteria, 2) a modeling task based on authentic situations at a community-run resource center, and 3) a modeling task focused on designing and monitoring a school community-building art project. Our cases illustrate that elementary teachers can successfully design and implement modeling activities that utilize different entry points and evidence multiple dimensions of authenticity. Furthermore, we found that the specific dimensions of authenticity may vary depending on the design supports and curriculum challenges within each context.

This study investigated the underexplored topic of teacher preparation program admissions processes by interviewing faculty and analyzing program documents. We investigated how 31 K-12 mathematics and science teacher preparation programs (MSTPPs) and faculty attend to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social and racial justice (DEIJ). Specific foci included applicant recruitment and selection, components of applications (e.g., forms, essays, and interviews), and how applicants' DEIJ-related information and orientations factor into admissions. We found that all MSTPPs participating in the study collected information related to DEIJ (e.g., applicants' ethnoracial backgrounds, citizenship), and all interviewed faculty expressed an interest in increasing the diversity of applicants and admitted students. Faculty expressed preferences for applicants who evidenced positive DEIJ orientations, such as recognizing social and ethnoracial injustices, but at the same time, differences were evident in how MSTPPs and faculty attended to DEIJ. Considerations, implications, and dilemmas for teacher preparation programs and faculty are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine mathematics preservice teacher (PST) learning to notice for equity as they participated in an experimental, practice-based methods course. Activities intended to support PST learning included the use of equity-based lenses in video analysis, live lesson observations, and case study analysis. We analyzed PSTs' noticing for equity throughout the course and examined both the foci and depth of their noticing. We focused on three case study participants for an in-depth investigation of trends in their noticing. We present how PSTs attended to and made sense of equity at the beginning and end of the course and describe their focus as primarily dominant (equity framed as access) or critical (equity framed as affirming identity). Findings indicated that activities with equity-based lenses supported PSTs in noticing equity along the dominant and critical axes. We conclude with implications for mathematics teacher educators who are interested in supporting PSTs' learning about and development of equitable pedagogies.