ANNOUNCEMENT: We are seeking faculty members to pilot MODULE(S2) materials in university mathematics courses that prospective high school teachers take. We are seeking piloters in the Academic Year 2021-2022. Piloting Faculty will be compensated with a stipend for: participating in a summer institute; participating in a teaching community during the academic year; teaching with the materials for a full semester; and participating in activities throughout the term in which the course is taught, including collecting homework assignments, videoing class sessions, and conducting beginning-of-term and end-of-term activities. Please indicate your interest by filling out the form here.
Problem Addressed
The Mathematics of Doing, Understanding, Learning, and Educating for Secondary Schools [MODULE(S^2)] Research Action Cluster (RAC) aims to address the identified problem that undergraduate programs fail to lead teacher candidates to: a) deeply understand the mathematics they will actually teach and b) experience learning in a manner consistent with what will be expected of them as professional educators (Banilower et al., 2013).
It is focused on the development of prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs’) knowledge of mathematics content needed for professional teaching. This focus addresses recommendations set forth in The Mathematical Education of Teachers II (MET II) (Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences [CBMS], 2012) for courses in secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs to provide opportunities for prospective teachers to “delve into the mathematics . . . while engaging in mathematical practice as described by the CCSS” (CBMS, 2012, p. 46). In addition, this work is aligned with recommendations set forth in Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics (SPTM; Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, 2017) to prepare teachers who can use and apply mathematical knowledge for teaching through collaboration among multiple stakeholders (i.e., mathematicians, mathematics educators, and K-12 personnel).
General Approach
The MODULE(S2) RAC, supported by an NSF-IUSE grant , aims to improve prospective secondary teachers’ opportunities to develop mathematical knowledge in and for teaching (MKT) as they learn mathematics in undergraduate mathematics content courses in at least 30 mathematics faculty members’ courses, in a variety of undergraduate institutions, by 2022.
In order to accomplish this aim we plan to:
Create twelve collaboratively designed modules designed to develop PSMTs’ mathematical knowledge for teaching algebra, geometry, modeling, and statistics in grades 6-12;
Pilot and support the implementation of the modules;
Revise the modules based on implementation data, instructor feedback, and PSMTs’ work;
Evaluate the effectiveness of modules with regards to their ability to develop PSMTs’ mathematical knowledge for teaching; and,
Disseminate the modules across multiple institutions, beginning with MTE-P institutions.
Our theory of change rests on research which demonstrates that use of tasks embedded in pedagogical contexts (Stylianides & Stylianides, 2010) is an important tool for bridging the often perceived gap between mathematical preparation and teaching practice (Goulding, Hatch, & Rodd, 2003; Zazkis & Leikin, 2010). The cycle of improvement for the MODULE(S2) RAC will be informed by understanding both how the materials are implemented by piloting instructors and how PSMTs engaging with the materials develop knowledge needed for teaching.
Who We Are
RAC Member and Institution
Roles in the RAC and Grant
Emina Alibegovic Rowland Hall School
Geometry Writing Team
Cynthia Anhalt University of Arizona
Modeling Writing Team Research Team
Holly Anthony Tennessee Technological University
RAC Member
Jason Aubrey University of Arizona
Algebra Writing Team
Stephanie Casey Eastern Michigan University
Statistics Writing Team Professional Development Team
Ricardo Cortez Tulane University
Advisory Board Member Modeling Writing Team
Christine Franklin American Statistical Association
Advisory Board Member
Howard Gobstein Association of Public Land Grant Universities
Grant Hub Coordinator
Brynja Kohler Utah State University
Modeling Writing Team Professional Development Team
Yvonne Lai University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Algebra Writing Team Research Team
Alyson Lischka Middle Tennessee State University
MODULE(S^2) RAC Leader Geometry Writing Team Research Team
Samantha Maddox Jefferson City Schools
Statistics Writing Team
W. Gary Martin Auburn University
Advisory Board Member
Margaret Mohr-Schroeder University of Kentucky
Advisory Board Member
Cody Patterson University of Texas at San Antonio
Algebra Writing Team
Matthew Ondrus Weber State University
Advisory Board Member
Andrew Ross Eastern Michigan University
Statistics Writing Team
Jeremy Strayer Middle Tennessee State University
Grant Lead PI, Research Team Professional Development Team Geometry and Algebra Writing Teams
James Tuttle Washtenaw Technical Middle College
Algebra Writing Team
Michael Weiss University of Michigan
Geometry Writing Team
John Womack Sky View High School
Modeling Writing Team
Opportunities for Engagement
We encourage newcomers to join in this work in the following ways:
Join in our conversations at the annual MTE-Partnership meetings as we plan for ways to engage prospective mathematics teachers in developing the knowledge needed to teach secondary mathematics.
Share your questions and comments with regard this RAC’s work by email toAlyson.Lischka@mtsu.edu
Spread the word about MODULE(S2) among colleagues in your department and let us know about your efforts by email toAlyson.Lischka@mtsu.edu
Consider becoming an official piloting faculty member as part of the NSF Funded portion of our work. Visit the the MODULE(S2) Grant page here for more information.
Resources for Getting Started
Anhalt, C. O., Cortez, R., & Bennett, A. B. (2018). The emergence of mathematical modeling competencies: An investigation of prospective secondary mathematics teachers. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 20, 202–221.
Casey, S., Albert, J., & Ross, A. (2019). Developing knowledge for teaching graphing of bivariate categorical data. Journal of Statistics Education, 27(1).
Lai, Y. (2018). Accounting for mathematicians’ priorities in mathematics courses for secondary teachers. Journal of Mathematical Behavior (online first).
Silverman, J. & Thompson, P. (2008). Toward a framework for the development of mathematical knowledge for teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11, 499–511.
RAC Publications
Lischka, A. E., Lai, Y., Strayer, J. F., & Anhalt, C. (2020). Developing mathematical knowledge in and for teaching in content courses. In G. W. Martin, B. R. Lawler, A. E. Lischka, & W. M. Smith (Eds.) The Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership: The Power of a Networked Improvement Community to Transform Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation (pp. 119-141). Information Age Publishing.
Lai, Y., Strayer, J. F., Lischka, A. E., Anhalt, C., Quinn, C., & Reed, S. (2019). A framework for examining prospective teachers’ use of mathematical knowledge for teaching in mathematics courses. In A. Weinberg, D. Moore-Russo, H. Soto, & M. Wawro (Eds.). Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 765-773). RUME. Available at: http://sigmaa.maa.org/rume/RUME22_Proceedings.pdf
Lai, Y., Strayer, J. F., & Lischka, A. E. (2018). Analyzing the development of MKT in content courses. In T.E. Hodges, G. J. Roy, & A. M. Tyminski (Eds.). Proceedings of the 40th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 496-499). University of South Carolina & Clemson University. Available at: https://www.pmena.org/pmenaproceedings/PMENA%2040%202018%20Proceedings.pdf
Strayer, J., Lischka, A., Quinn, C. & Watson, L. (2018, January). Developing preservice teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching in content courses. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, San Diego, California. Available at: http://sigmaa.maa.org/rume/RUME21.pdf
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. (2017). Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics. Retrieved from: amte.net/standards.
Banilower, E. R., Smith, P. S., Weiss, I. R., Malzahn, K. A., Campbell, K. M., & Weis, A. M. (2013). Report of the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc.
Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences. (2012). The Mathematical Education of Teachers II. Providence, RI, and Washington, DC: American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America, Retrieved from http://www.cbmsweb.org/MET2/MET2Draft.pdf
Goulding, M., Hatch, G., & Rodd, M. (2003). Undergraduate mathematics experience: its significance in secondary mathematics teacher preparation. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 6(4), 361-393.
Stylianides, G.J., Stylianides, A.J. (2010). Mathematics for teaching: A form of applied mathematics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2) 161-172.
Zazkis, R., & Leikin, R. (2010). Advanced mathematical knowledge in teaching practice: Perceptions of secondary mathematics teachers. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 12, 263-281.
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