Indicator P.3.4. Incorporate Practice-Based ExperiIndicator P.3.5. Provide Effective Mathematics Methods Instructorsences
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Indicator P.3.5. Provide Effective Mathematics Methods Instructors An effective mathematics teacher preparation program ensures that mathematics methods instructors have relevant grade-level experiences with schools, teachers, and students and possess deep understandings of the mathematics content and the research and practice regarding pedagogical and equity issues associated with effectively teaching each and every student. |
Mathematics methods experiences that address the Indicators P.3.1 through P.3.4 provide complex, rich experiences that draw upon a deep view of mathematics and a broad understanding of the mathematics education literature base. Thus, in effective mathematics teacher education preparation programs, instructors for those experiences must possess mathematical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and the knowledge of social-cultural contexts of mathematics. Further, effective methods instructors continually learn from practice and research themselves and encourage candidates to do so throughout their professional journeys (Hiebert et al., 2007). For example, new research about students’ thinking in well-defined content domains, advances in educational technology available for mathematics classes, and changing standards require mathematics methods instructors to take the professional stance of viewing teaching as constant learning. Furthermore, given the complex demands of teaching mathematics methods, personnel in effective programs consider how to support mathematics methods instructors while they develop the relevant grade-level school experiences and update their knowledge of research and practice. Also, institutions of higher education that prepare university faculty must explicitly and programmatically support the preparation of methods instructors to meet these expectations.