Mathematics Teacher Candidates and Rural Education: A Colombian Case Study

• In Event: STEM and Career and Technical Education in Rural Contexts

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates the use of community-based pedagogy (CBP) in mathematics rural education. The participants were a group of mathematics teacher candidates (MTCs) taking a mathematics methods course of a Colombian teacher preparation program. Participants live in a rural region in Colombia, South America. MTCs wrote mathematics word problems using CBP and the teaching mathematics through problem-solving approach. Data was analyzed using several rounds of focused coding, cross-validation, and inter-rater reliability. Findings demonstrated that MTCs were able to connect different categories of rural resources and activities with mathematical domains and concepts in 12 out of 35 possibilities when writing word problems. Two relevant types of word problems linked farming (animal husbandry and agriculture) with algebra (linear equations).

Authors

• Ricela Feliciano-Semidei, Northern Illinois University

• Mariana A. Ricklefs, Northern Illinois University

• Yolima Rocha Fontalvo, Universidad del Atlantico