Open Collections

Math penpals as a context for learning to teach: a study of preservice teachers' learning

University of British Columbia

This study explores preservice teachers' learning to teach mathematics in the context of an innovative version of the mathematics methods courses typically offered at UBC. Thirteen preservice teachers engaged in a math letter writing exchange with Grade 4 students are the focus of this study. This math penpal experience was meant to provide a "laboratory setting" for preservice teachers to try out and investigate the ideas discussed during methods classes. Interactions with students, in turn, served as the focus of further class discussions and reflective journal writing. Two research questions were investigated: (1) What were preservice teachers learning through their math penpal investigations; and (2) What factors influenced their learning? Preservice teachers' written records (math letters, journals, and case reports) were the main sources of data used to address these questions. My perspectives as a participant, teacher, and researcher were used to guide and inform my analysis of this data. An analytical framework was constructed based on preservice teachers' "pedagogical puzzles" (issues and challenges faced and deliberated on). These puzzles related to their problem posing, interpreting, and responding practices. This framework was used to explore patterns and changes in preservice teachers' views and practices. Learning themes discussed include: learning to broaden goals and expectations of problems; learning to see and construct meaning from students' work, and learning to question and revise claims about students' mathematical attitudes and abilities; learning to recognize and interrogate hidden messages in their discourse, and learning to respond differently. Factors found to be associated with preservice teachers' learning include: (a) interactive experiences with students, (b) engagement in collaborative explorations of problems and comparable students' work, and (c) the opportunity to revisit and reinterpret their experiences with students in multiple occasions. Implications for the research and practice of mathematics teacher education are discussed in relation to: (a) preservice teachers' learning of mathematics and mathematical pedagogy, (b) learning in courserelated field experiences, and (c) learning to reflect and write about teaching and learning.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-05-29

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8474

Curriculum Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace