Preservice Teachers and the Obligations of Mathematics Teaching: Exploring a Promising Model of Teacher Education

• In Event: The Role of the Professional Obligations for Mathematics Teaching in Mathematics Teacher Education

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this presentation is to describe the importance of the environment in which PSTs learn to teach, and to discuss the benefits afforded to PSTs after engaging in practice teaching through the XYZ model (a pseudonym).

Theoretical Framework: Our claim is that the XYZ model affords PSTs opportunities in which they develop more sophisticated discourse around the professional obligations (Herbst & Chazan, 2012). We discuss how these obligations are consistently used to address five persistent challenges of teaching (Kennedy, 2016).

Methods: The overarching question for our research project is: What affordances does the XYZ model provide for the development of PSTs’ understanding of the obligations incumbent upon the role of mathematics teacher? We address this research question through the implementation of the XYZ model. PSTs were partnered and tasked with preparing and teaching a lesson at two different points within the semester. A mathematics teacher educator (MTE) provided feedback during lesson planning and in-the-moment coaching while the lesson was taught. Following the lesson, each PST pair participated in a debrief with the MTE and their peers who had observed.

Data Sources and Analysis: To better understand how the XYZ model provided opportunities for PSTs to understand complexities of teaching, we analyzed segments of debrief sessions where the lead PSTs shared their immediate post-lesson reflections. After creating transcripts for two separate teaching sessions from the 9 partner groups, we used Transana, a qualitative data analysis software, to conduct a content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). We discovered themes in debrief transcripts across the different PST pairs and across time.

Findings: The disciplinary obligation surfaced in PSTs reflections on how they resolved multiple challenges of teaching. In particular, the disciplinary obligation was referenced when discussing challenges related to the portrayal of the curriculum and how PSTs expose students’ thinking. In addressing the disciplinary obligation, PSTs were primarily focused on accuracy and conceptual understanding. In addition, PSTs referenced the institutional obligation, particularly a flexible use of class time, when reflecting upon in-the-moment decisions related to student learning, as well as how they portrayed the curriculum and enlisted student participation. This helped us to understand what PSTs wanted more time to do, which was connected to doing more group work and discovery activities. Lastly, PSTs began to acknowledge that they were working with real students, with real feeling, struggles, and epiphanies. This means that there were a variety of considerations accounting for students’ individual and interpersonal needs, and that any perceived lack of participation may be deeper than just not wanting to participate.

Significance. Offering early field experiences that allow PSTs to grapple with authentic teaching situations (in a supportive environment) seems to enrich their understanding of the dilemmas that arise between obligations a teacher faces. It may be the case that without a chance to experience the tensions with the guidance of MTEs, they may make choices as early career teachers that fail to address important obligations (e.g., to individual students or to the interpersonal work in the class).

Authors

• Nickolaus Alexander Ortiz, Georgia State University

• Kristen Bieda, Michigan State University

• Michelle Cirillo, University of Delaware

• Fran Arbaugh, The Pennsylvania State University