Reconceptualizing the relationship between teaching mathematics and learning to teach mathematics: The role of a methods course

At present, the public school system in the United States is experiencing severe teacher shortages predominantly in urban areas; this shortage is exacerbated by a pervasive need for qualified, effective mathematics teachers in our nation\u27s cities (Ball & Wilson, 1990; Feistritzer, 1998; McCabe, 2004; Posamentier & Coppin, 2005; Shen, 1999; U.S. Department of Education, 2004). To address the dearth of teachers in the public schools, there has been a significant increase in the number of teachers who are prepared through alternate-route certification programs (Ingersoll, 2003). While typical alternate-route certification programs are structured similar to traditional teacher education programs, due to their distinct purpose, the teachers\u27 primary field component is located at the beginning of the program given that their full-time teaching experience occurs simultaneously with their participation in academic courses. Because of this difference, and the importance of the primary field experience to beginning teachers\u27 knowledge development (see Frykholm, 1999; Wilson et al., 2001), it cannot be assumed that methods courses in alternate-route certification programs should be constructed similar to methods courses in traditional teacher education programs. In this study I examine the relationship between the knowledge teachers developed in a methods course and the knowledge they constructed in practice. The qualitative methodology I used included an in-depth exploration of the experiences of three alternatively-certified beginning mathematics teachers as well as a survey of beginning mathematics teachers who were enrolled in a mathematics methods course as their knowledge was concomitantly constructed in the methods course and in situ. The data suggest that teachers who engage in their primary field experience at the beginning of their teacher education programs have distinct experiences that are manifested in ways that are different from the experiences of their traditionally-certified counterparts. In enacting their pedagogical practices, the knowledge teachers developed in their methods course was mediated by the knowledge they developed in the field, and vice versa. The findings from this study provide strong implications for the ways in which teacher educators can restructure methods courses in alternate-route certification programs as well as traditional teacher education programs to enhance beginning teachers\u27 knowledge development