Mossgrove, Jennifer L.
(2007)
EXAMINING THE NATURE OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES OF SECONDARY MATHEMATICS PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the instructional practices of two pre-service secondary mathematics teachers, Paige Morris and Keith Nichols, during their internship experiences. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the cognitive demands of the tasks as selected and enacted by the pre-service teachers, the mathematical representations used during the lesson, and the questions asked by each pre-service teacher. Additionally, the study aimed to describe the ways in which the contextual settings, particularly the curriculum and mentor, appeared to influence the instructional practices of the pre-service teachers as they planned for and enacted mathematics lessons in their field placements. The analysis of the data indicated that the instructional practices of the pre-service teachers were quite different. Keith planned for and enacted more high-level tasks than did Paige. While both Paige and Keith provided their respective students with opportunities to consider multiple representations of a mathematical idea, the use of the representations differed. Paige focused on procedural aspects of making connections between representations, whereas Keith used the representations as a way for the students to build meaning of the mathematical concepts. Additionally, Keith asked more questions that provided the students with opportunities to think and reason about the mathematics as well as to make meaningful connections between representations. An analysis of the contextual settings in which Paige and Keith worked point to key differences in the opportunities that Paige and Keith had during their field experience to learn about student-centered instructional practices. Two specific areas that were targeted in this study were the curriculum and the mentor. A review of the data indicated that the curriculum used in field experience and the mentoring that Paige and Keith received from their mentor teachers and university supervisors appeared to affect aspects of their practice. That is, Keith was greatly influenced by his use of a reform-oriented curriculum, whereas Paige did not have access to such a curriculum. Additionally, Keith's mentors consistently used specific instances form the lesson as a means to identify key areas for Keith to focus on improving. In contrast, Paige typically received feedback that was broad and general.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
29 January 2007 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
23 October 2006 |
| Approval Date: |
29 January 2007 |
| Submission Date: |
8 December 2006 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Instruction and Learning |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
mathematics education; teacher preparation |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12082006-114459/, etd-12082006-114459 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:09 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:53 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10200 |
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