A Comparison Of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Mathematical Content Knowledge and Teaching Moves
Location
Session 3 (Room 1300)
Session Format
Oral Presentation
Your Campus
Statesboro Campus- Henderson Library, April 20th
Academic Unit
College of Education
Research Area Topic:
Education & Learning - Curriculum & Instruction
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Lauren E. Akers (1st author)
Marie C. Curry (co-presenter)
Dr. Montana Smithey (faculty advisor)
Abstract
This explanatory case study, which is the beginning phase of data analysis for a larger scale research project, is aimed to decipher whether and how pre-service teachers' (PSTs) content knowledge may affect the types of questions they plan to ask when examining student work. Research questions include: a) What teaching moves do PSTs use when engaging in conversations with children around student work? and (b) How does content knowledge affect the teaching moves that preservice teachers use when examining student work? Teaching moves can be described as the intentional actions teachers take including questions, series of questions, statements, and gestures (Jacobs & Empson, 2016). The framework for mathematical knowledge for teaching (Ball, 2008) suggests that a combination of pedagogical content knowledge and subject matter content knowledge make up the domain of necessary knowledge for teachers teaching mathematics (Ball, 2008). When considering a pre-service teacher's specialized content knowledge (SCK), we can then decipher whether and how this may affect their own teaching moves.
Data collection was sourced from 40 participants who are either currently enrolled or plan to enroll in a special education or elementary education program. Participants completed an LMT assessment measuring specialized content knowledge, along with a semi-structured interview in which they examined elementary student written work samples and shared what teaching moves they would offer in support of the student. This preliminary analysis focuses on comparing participant’s SCK of rational number problems with the types of questioning used with students’ work of similar content.
The implications of this research analysis could be useful in future development of mathematics courses for Elementary teacher education programs. This continuous analysis of the data can lead to advancements in understanding the variety of factors which could be influencing a pre-service teacher's teaching moves when evaluating student work.
Program Description
Presented are preliminary results from an explanatory case study of Elementary or Special education majors (either accepted into the program or plan to apply). We analyzed participants’ specific content knowledge related to teaching math and any teaching moves used when interacting with student work.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Restricted to Georgia Southern)
Start Date
4-20-2022 2:15 PM
End Date
4-20-2022 3:15 PM
Recommended Citation
Akers, Lauren E.; Curry, Marie C.; and Smithey, Montana L. Ph.D., "A Comparison Of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Mathematical Content Knowledge and Teaching Moves" (2022). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 44.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2022/2022/44
A Comparison Of Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Mathematical Content Knowledge and Teaching Moves
Session 3 (Room 1300)
This explanatory case study, which is the beginning phase of data analysis for a larger scale research project, is aimed to decipher whether and how pre-service teachers' (PSTs) content knowledge may affect the types of questions they plan to ask when examining student work. Research questions include: a) What teaching moves do PSTs use when engaging in conversations with children around student work? and (b) How does content knowledge affect the teaching moves that preservice teachers use when examining student work? Teaching moves can be described as the intentional actions teachers take including questions, series of questions, statements, and gestures (Jacobs & Empson, 2016). The framework for mathematical knowledge for teaching (Ball, 2008) suggests that a combination of pedagogical content knowledge and subject matter content knowledge make up the domain of necessary knowledge for teachers teaching mathematics (Ball, 2008). When considering a pre-service teacher's specialized content knowledge (SCK), we can then decipher whether and how this may affect their own teaching moves.
Data collection was sourced from 40 participants who are either currently enrolled or plan to enroll in a special education or elementary education program. Participants completed an LMT assessment measuring specialized content knowledge, along with a semi-structured interview in which they examined elementary student written work samples and shared what teaching moves they would offer in support of the student. This preliminary analysis focuses on comparing participant’s SCK of rational number problems with the types of questioning used with students’ work of similar content.
The implications of this research analysis could be useful in future development of mathematics courses for Elementary teacher education programs. This continuous analysis of the data can lead to advancements in understanding the variety of factors which could be influencing a pre-service teacher's teaching moves when evaluating student work.
