Understanding Why Teachers Teach and Why Teachers Teach Mathematics

• In Event: 63.085 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: 63.085-3 - Examining Teaching Practices Across the Content Areas

Abstract

To encourage, instruct, or develop teachers, we must first understand why they teach. Building on past research that investigated pre-service teacher motivation, this project examines qualitative data taken on multiple semesters of pre-service teachers. Asking why they want to teach and why they want to teach mathematics, this National Science Foundation-funded project offers new insights into why some of tomorrow’s teachers choose the honorable but sometimes difficult job of middle-grade mathematics instruction. The results of this study raise concerns about constructed English-Math binaries that may hinder interdisciplinary pedagogy and the importance of giving early teaching opportunities to pre-service teachers.

Authors

• Glenn Allen Phillips, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

• Kathryn Bell McKenzie, California State University - Stanislaus