Doceamus: Reconsidering the Mathematics Preparation of Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

mathematics teachers. Hodgson [5] noted that, within such programs, pre-service secondary mathematics teachers “have no explicit occasion for making connections with the mathematical topics for which they will be responsible in school, nor of looking at those topics from an advanced point of view” (p. 509). He endorsed the inclusion of undergraduate coursework that would help preservice teachers develop “deep conceptual understanding of the school mathematics content” (p. 512). In 2001 the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) [3] recommended that pre-service secondary mathematics teachers complete “a 6-hour capstone course connecting their college mathematics courses with high school mathematics” (p. 8). Recently, the CBMS has released an updated version of these recommendations [4] and, rather than suggesting a specific capstone course, now proposes that pre-service secondary mathematics teachers complete the equivalent of a mathematics major “that includes three courses with a primary focus on high school mathematics from an advanced viewpoint” (p. 18). The call for pre-service secondary mathematics Secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs typically require pre-service teachers to complete an undergraduate degree in mathematics, or the equivalent [1, 3], along with education coursework and some type of field experience. There has been substantial discussion in the mathematics education community about the mathematics coursework required of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. Many have questioned the value of traditional undergraduate mathematics programs for future high school Reconsidering the Mathematics Preparation of Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teachers