Improving the Learning of Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers through Engagement with Middle and High School Curriculum Materials

Mathematical Sciences (21). This project is researching, adapting, and implementing reform-oriented middle and high school curriculum materials into the mathematics and methods coursework of preservice secondary teachers. Curriculum tasks are selected and adapted to maximize their potential to extend preservice secondary teachers' understandings of mathematics, teaching, and curriculum. Educational research and recent reform recommendations for the school curriculum inform the project's goals and design activities. As curriculum materials are adapted and used in mathematics and methods courses, information about preservice teachers' learning and perspectives guide ongoing implementation and course design. A community of faculty and graduate students in mathematics and mathematics education is being developed through project activities.

The intellectual merit of this project stems from its integration of research and education. The project incorporates research knowledge into the design of courses for future teachers, and in turn develops further research knowledge via the intensive examination of innovative course designs.

The broader impacts of the project lie in its potential to advance knowledge of mathematics teacher education and innovative strategies for improving the preparation of mathematics teachers. Several components of the project enhance the potential for broad dissemination and use of project results at other institutions. These components include: the evaluation plan, which assesses preservice teachers' learning, and instructors' experiences teaching; presentations and publications; and internal and external piloting of materials. Final products include documentation, for use by mathematicians and teacher educators, of specific strategies for implementing curriculum materials in courses for preservice mathematics teachers.