Learn to Teach Algebra: Opportunities in Secondary Teacher Education

• In Event: 35.081 - Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: 35.081-2 - Teacher Preparation in Mathematics Education

Abstract

In this paper we share opportunities to learn (OTLs) to teach algebra made available to secondary pre-service teachers (PSTs) during their teacher education programs at three universities. We examined OTLs from multiple data sources, including instructor interviews, instructional materials and PST focus groups. We looked not only at the content addressed in the teacher education programs, but also how that content was reportedly experienced. We found diversity in OTLs, from using technology to produce representations for students, to having pedagogy demonstrated in Abstract Algebra, to learning to teach algebra through mathematical modeling. We also saw alignment between instructors and PSTs’ reported OTLs, which implies that PSTs recognize the OTLs as relevant to their future teaching.

Authors

• Andrew Joseph Hoffman, Purdue University

• Jia He, Michigan State University

• Alexia Shernetta Mintos, Purdue University

• Jill Annette Newton, Purdue University

• Elizabeth Kersey, Purdue University

• Jenna Beckley, Purdue University

• Yukiko Maeda, Purdue University