DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHING: DOCUMENTING PRESERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS' EXPERIENCES

The two research questions that guided this study were: (1) How do preservice teachers develop mathematical knowledge for teaching during a coordinated math methods course and field experience? and (2) What types of portfolio tasks lend themselves to documenting mathematical knowledge in teaching? Six, female, elementary (K-8) teacher candidates who were co-enrolled in Math Methods, K-9, and Field Experience II, during the 15-week, fall 2012 semester at Lewis University were the participants in this study. The six teacher candidates all completed their field experiences in the same K-8 school, St. Joseph, in Lockport, Illinois. Three of the teacher candidates had elementary placements (grades K, 1, and 4) and three of the teacher candidates had middle school placements (5, 6, and 7). Each of the teacher candidates completed pretest and post-test DTAMS assessments. All candidates taught three mathematics lessons, which were videotaped and observed by the researcher. After each lesson was taught, a debriefing interview on the strengths, improvements, and next steps was conducted. Math Methods class sessions and Field Experience II seminars were recorded. Finally, each teacher candidate submitted a Math Teaching Portfolio. Results illustrated the growth of mathematical knowledge for teaching that occurred for each participant. In addition, results indicated which portfolio tasks are best for documenting mathematical knowledge for teaching. Implications for the field of mathematics education, future research, and teacher preparation programs are also discussed.PH.D in Mathematics Education, July 201