Abstract
This qualitative study investigated 17 preservice teachers’ lesson design for teaching multiplication to an average performing student and a student with mathematical learning disabilities (MLD). Findings reveal how preservice teachers differentiate mathematics instruction to meet the needs of students. They modified mathematical strategies by providing diverse multiplicative concepts and fitting the form of representations. They accommodated lesson design by setting their expectations based on individual needs, managing instructional structure and progress, and adjusting the cognitive demand of tasks. Some formative assessment skills demonstrated how they understood students’ mathematical thinking and responded to it. The needs for further attention and support in lesson differentiation, including content-oriented alternation for equitable responsive teaching and moving away from short-term solutions to sustainable support, were discussed.
Highlights
The ultimate goal of teacher education is to support preservice teachers to implement newly acquired knowledge and skills into their practice
The first research question is discussed in the mathematical strategies section, which reports overarching findings regarding the way preservice teachers (PTs) introduced the multiplicative concept and ways to have students experience the multiplicative concept
While the idea of modifying and accommodating instruction has been discussed in the field of teacher education, the topic of what it means to respond to students with various needs is beginning to attract attention [73]
Summary
The ultimate goal of teacher education is to support preservice teachers to implement newly acquired knowledge and skills into their practice. How instructional strategies should be modified to maximize the quality of learning opportunities for each student is an urgent question in the field of mathematics education [3,4]. This connects to the agenda of teacher education—supporting preservice teachers to learn how to provide high quality learning opportunities for every student, and to apply their learning to practice. In their plan for teaching multiplication to Jose, all 17 PTs modeled multiplication based on equal group situations. As mentioned in the theoretical section, three possible external representations for multiplication in equal group situations—grouping, number-line, and array models—appeared in the PTs’ lesson plans (see Table 4)
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