The study investigated the impact of Thai preservice middle school mathematics teachers' knowledge of subject matter and of students' conceptions of division of rational numbers with respect to their classroom practices in a teaching environment controlled by a required national curriculum. Four preservice teachers were selected with different knowledge of subject matter and of students' conceptions of division of rational numbers: high knowledge of subject matter and high knowledge of students' conceptions, high knowledge of subject matter and low knowledge of students' conceptions, low knowledge of subject matter and high knowledge of students' conceptions, and low knowledge of subject matter and low knowledge of students' conceptions. Each preservice teacher was observed three weeks, each class day during the teaching of units on division of decimals, representing fractions as decimals, and division of fractions. Formal interviews were conducted with each of the four preservice teachers prior to and after teaching each unit. Informal interviews were conducted prior to and after teaching each lesson. Materials used in the normal teaching of the class were collected. Interviews with the preservice teachers' mentors were conducted before and after each unit. The mentors were interviewed daily before or after the instruction. Interviews with supervisors were conducted each time they supervised the preservice teachers. Results showed that all preservice teachers planned and taught division of rational numbers procedurally following an algorithmically-based national curriculum. The preservice teachers with higher subject matter knowledge used multiple examples. They could make up examples when the students asked questions. In contrast, the lower subject matter knowledge preservice teachers rarely created new examples while they were teaching. The high knowledge of students' conceptions preservice teachers used their knowledge of students' conceptions throughout the lessons more often than the low knowledge of students' conceptions preservice teachers. After teaching the lessons, they all gained knowledge of subject matter and of students' conceptions of division of rational numbers. The depth of knowledge of subject matter and of students' conceptions of division of rational numbers is as essential for preservice middle school mathematics teachers' teaching in a nonvoluntary curriculum as it is in a voluntary curriculum. / Graduation date: 2003

This study examined the practice of student teaching and the effects of student teaching upon the development of three secondary Thai language student teachers from Chiangmai Teachers' College in Chiangmai, Thailand from July to September, 1992. The research questions were: What are the methods of teaching which are used during student teaching experience, and what developments or changes occur as a result of student teaching from the point of view of the student teachers? The research methodology was qualitative, utilizing the methodologies of open-ended interviewing of student teachers as the primary mode. Other sources such as observations of student teacher teaching and student teacher journals were used to add depth to the study and to triangulate the findings. Interviews were conducted in two phases. Observations were conducted as the student teachers taught five class sessions. The data were processed using the constant comparative method. A preliminary study of three secondary teachers was conducted to test the interview guides and add direction to the study. The analysis of data resulted in the generation of the following working hypotheses: 1. Formal college training plays a more influential role in student teachers' methods of teaching than the student teachers realize. 2. Student teaching experience affects student teachers' attitude toward teaching. 3. Student teaching experience has a powerful impact on the development of student teachers as teachers and as individuals. / Graduation date: 1994