The Effectiveness of Hands-on Number Talks on Teacher Candidates' Mathematics Teaching Efficacy and Attitudes

• In Event: Evidence-Based Practice for Early STEM Teaching and Learning: Diverse Adult Roles and Contexts

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of hands-on Number Talks practices on the mathematics teaching efficacy and attitudes toward mathematics of early childhood and elementary teacher candidates.
The Activity Before Content (ABC) is a pedagogical framework that enables learners to experience exploratory activities before learning formal content (Cavanagh, 2007). The ABC is rooted in John Dewey’s philosophy, which emphasizes “learning by doing.” For example, in his work Experience and Education (Dewey, 1938), Dewey argued that learning should begin with practical and meaningful activities to gain a concrete understanding of the concepts. Unlike traditional practices, he considered learners “participants in their learning rather than receivers of their learning” (Castronova, 2002, p. 3). Recognizing the discussed benefits of the ABC framework, this study employed ABC to teach Number Talks methods in mathematics teaching methods courses.
This study was conducted in the eastern United States. Ten senior female teacher candidates participated in a nine-week mathematics methods workshop. Each session included hands-on Number Talks using a variety of manipulatives, such as number cards, pencils, paper, dice, coins, clay, toothpicks, and more. The workshops followed the ABC framework, allowing participants to first engage in exploratory activities before learning related mathematical content through reflection and discussion.
A one-group pre- and post-test experiment design was employed to examine the impact of Number Talks on teacher candidates in early childhood and elementary education programs (PreK-6). Two validated surveys were used: the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI; Enochs et al., 2000) and the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (ATMI; Tapia & Marsh, 2004). First, MTEBI consisted of 21 Likert-scale items, assessing two domains: personal mathematics teaching efficacy and mathematics teaching outcome expectancy. Second, ATMI included 40 Likert-scale items, measuring four dimensions: self-confidence, enjoyment, value, and motivation.
Using SPSS 29.0, we conducted paired-samples t-tests to examine changes in pre- and post-intervention scores, and Cohen’s d was calculated to estimate effect sizes. Results showed that participants’ mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs increased significantly from pre- to post-test, t(9) = -2.34, p = .044, d = 0.74 (moderate effect), although changes within the subscales were not statistically significant. In addition, overall attitudes toward mathematics significantly improved, t(9) = -3.50, p = .007, d = 1.11 (large effect), while changes within individual attitude domains were not significant.
These findings suggested that integrating hands-on Number Talks into teacher education courses using the ABC approach can enhance teacher candidates’ instructional confidence and positive attitudes toward mathematics. In particular, this study highlighted the value of hands-on mathematical methods in teacher preparation and presented empirical evidence for incorporating the ABC instructional framework into early childhood and elementary mathematics methods courses.

Authors

• Shinho Kim, Framingham State University

• Shin Ae Han, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

• SungEun Min, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

• Jonga Lee, Sungkyunkwan University