Changing Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs Regarding Mathematics Teaching: The Effects of a Methods Course

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  In Roundtable Session: STEM Preservice Teacher Beliefs and Community Building

Abstract

For pre-service teachers (PSTs) who have been exposed to traditional approaches, teacher education courses can be a revelatory experience in their development as educators. This study explores if elementary PSTs change their beliefs about mathematics teaching as a result of taking a mathematics methods course and how the course influenced these beliefs. Nineteen PSTs completed pre- and post-course surveys to measure participants’ mathematics beliefs. Results from the surveys show that beliefs moved towards a more reform-based approach. Qualitative data complemented the survey results, indicating that experiencing new approaches in the course and the opportunity to put these new beliefs into practice is important to the development of PSTs.

Author

• Limin Jao, McGill University