ATTITUDES ON MATHEMATICS TEACHING AND LEARNING BY PRESERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS IN A PROJECT DRIVEN MATHEMATICS CLASS

Georgianna T. Klein

Grand Valley State University

kleing@gvsu.edu

There have been many reforms in mathematics classrooms for preservice elementary teachers in recent years. Presumably such teaching has had some impact on students’ beliefs. This poster reports work from a preliminary study of students in an undergraduate mathematics course for elementary teachers. It describes instruction in the class and gives students’ self-reported attitudes on what it means to do mathematics in school, what mathematics teaching is, and changes in their confidence in learning and teaching mathematics as a result of taking the class. Students had been asked to respond to several questions on the course in a reflective writing assignment. Questions were open-ended and students had a great deal of latitude in choosing on what to comment.

The class was the first of two courses in mathematics for prospective elementary teachers, but which must double as a methods course. The teacher used the Launch-Explore-Summarize (Lappan et al, 1998) guided discovery model for instruction. The class was project driven and was taught in a laboratory where activities were fully-integrated within lecture/discussion. All new mathematics was introduced through group activities and with curriculum materials that could be used, as is, to teach mathematics in the K-8 classroom. Considerable attention was paid to verbal and written justifications for contributions to class discussions of mathematics and in problem/activity write-ups. Students were asked to wrestle with the tension between everyday and mathematical language on an ongoing basis.

Students reported increased confidence in their own mathematics learning, a change in beliefs from mathematics teaching as explaining and practicing to needing to struggle with problems, valuing groupwork and the use of manipulatives, and an appreciation for careful use of language.

Reference

Lappan, G., Fitzgerald, W. (1998). Connected Matheamtics Project. Reading, MA: Scott Foresman.