TY - JOUR
T1 - Making Connections in Practice
T2 - How Prospective Elementary Teachers Connect to Children's Mathematical Thinking and Community Funds of Knowledge in Mathematics Instruction
AU - Aguirre, Julia M.
AU - Turner, Erin E.
AU - Bartell, Tonya Gau
AU - Kalinec-Craig, Crystal
AU - Foote, Mary Q.
AU - Roth McDuffie, Amy
AU - Drake, Corey
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1228034.
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - This study examines the ways prospective elementary teachers (PSTs) made connections to children's mathematical thinking and children's community funds of knowledge in mathematics lesson plans. We analyzed the work of 70 PSTs from across three university sites associated with an instructional module for elementary mathematics methods courses that asks PSTs to visit community settings and develop problem solving mathematics lessons that connect to mathematical practices in these settings (Community Mathematics Exploration Module). Using analytic induction, we identified three distinct levels of connections to children's mathematical thinking and their community funds of knowledge evidenced in PSTs' work (emergent, transitional, and meaningful). Findings describe how these connections reflected different points on a learning trajectory. This study has implications for understanding how PSTs begin to connect to children's mathematical funds of knowledge in their teaching, a practice shown to be effective for teaching diverse groups of children.
AB - This study examines the ways prospective elementary teachers (PSTs) made connections to children's mathematical thinking and children's community funds of knowledge in mathematics lesson plans. We analyzed the work of 70 PSTs from across three university sites associated with an instructional module for elementary mathematics methods courses that asks PSTs to visit community settings and develop problem solving mathematics lessons that connect to mathematical practices in these settings (Community Mathematics Exploration Module). Using analytic induction, we identified three distinct levels of connections to children's mathematical thinking and their community funds of knowledge evidenced in PSTs' work (emergent, transitional, and meaningful). Findings describe how these connections reflected different points on a learning trajectory. This study has implications for understanding how PSTs begin to connect to children's mathematical funds of knowledge in their teaching, a practice shown to be effective for teaching diverse groups of children.
KW - children's mathematical thinking
KW - culturally relevant mathematics
KW - elementary mathematics education
KW - equity
KW - prospective mathematics teacher education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874132427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84874132427&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0022487112466900
DO - 10.1177/0022487112466900
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84874132427
SN - 0022-4871
VL - 64
SP - 178
EP - 192
JO - Journal of Teacher Education
JF - Journal of Teacher Education
IS - 2
ER -