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Despite the effort of teacher education programs, early childhood, and elementary preservice teachers often fear mathematics, have high mathematics anxiety, hold negative self-perceptions in relation to mathematics, find mathematics irrelevant, and have low mathematics achievement. The aim of this study was to implement and investigate the influence of an identity exploration intervention on preservice teachers’ identities in mathematics during a required mathematics content course of a teacher education program to provide insight into the patterns of change in identity and motivation towards mathematics. Twenty-four preservice teachers focusing on either early childhood education or non-mathematics secondary education were included in this study from a college algebra course specifically designed for education majors. Data collection included surveys, identity-related worksheets, identity exploration tasks, reflective writing assignments, interviews, and observations. Data was analyzed using the Dynamics Systems Model of Role-Identity and the principles for promoting identity exploration (Kaplan, 2014). This model highlights the interaction between self-perceptions, beliefs, purposes and goals, and actions. Analysis led to identification of patterns of change in student role identities and themes across cases that highlight the differences in change between the early childhood participants and secondary education participants, the influence of initial identity, and the impact of perceived relevance on identity exploration. This study contributes to the understanding of identity exploration in a mathematical setting and discusses future directions of research in promotion of identity exploration in preservice teachers. / Math & Science Education

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a one-semester combined mathematics content/methods course based on Simon's (1994) Learning Cycle framework for the mathematical preparation of preservice elementary teachers was more effective at aligning preservice teachers' beliefs with the philosophy of the Standards documents (NCTM, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000) and other reform literature than another content/methods course. While the six-cycled Learning Cycles framework has been used in separate content and methods courses (Simon, 1995), it has not been used in a combined content/methods setting. The preservice teachers enrolled in two sections of the course Teaching Math to Children: N-6 were involved in the study with one section investigating the topics measurement, geometry and fractions using the Learning Cycles framework while the other section used a different framework to investigate number concepts and place value; addition and subtraction strategies; multiplication and division strategies; geometry and spatial sense; ratio, proportion, percent, similarity and scale; and probability, counting techniques and statistics. Beliefs about the nature, teaching and learning of mathematics were measured both quantitatively and qualitatively. All participants' beliefs were assessed quantitatively at the beginning and the end of the course using a beliefs instrument with three subscales that measured beliefs about the nature, teaching and learning of mathematics. Five preservice teachers from the Learning Cycles course served as case studies and provided qualitative data through interviews and journal prompts. Analyses of Covariance were calculated for course of enrollment and each of the three beliefs subscales. For beliefs about the nature of mathematics, there was a significant difference between the adjusted post-test scores of the Learning Cycles group and the comparison group favoring the Learning Cycles group. Similar results were found regarding beliefs about the teaching of mathematics. While significant differences were found between the groups with regards to beliefs about the learning of mathematics, the scores on the corresponding subscale changed only slightly. Qualitative analyses confirmed the findings regarding the beliefs about the nature and teaching of mathematics. Differences were also found in the preservice teachers' beliefs about learning mathematics. The case study participants attributed certain characteristics of the course with their changing beliefs. These results indicate that the Learning Cycles course was somewhat successful at aligning preservice teachers' beliefs with those of the reform movement. / CITE/Mathematics and Science Education

Social Foundations of Education (SFE) courses have long been a staple of traditional teacher preparation programs. However, with the rise of alternative pathways to teacher certification, a debate has emerged around the usefulness of SFE courses, particularly as it relates to the development of pre-service teachers into effective educators. Employing a mixed methods design, this study explores the impact of SFE courses by examining how these classes affect pre-service teachers’ critical awareness and teacher expectations. Data for this study was collected through pretest and posttest surveys and interviews during the Fall of 2017 at two mid-Atlantic universities. In total, 132 individuals participated in the quantitative portion of the study, with 18 of these subjects also comprising the study’s focal sample. Results of this research show that SFE courses significantly increase pre-service teachers’ critical awareness but do not have an effect on teacher expectations. However, in analyzing the data by institution, this study found that SFE courses are capable of raising pre-service teachers’ expectations when course instructors adopt certain pedagogical and rhetorical practices. / Urban Education

Teacher education programs have been known to omit critical aspects of technology preparation among undergraduates. Teaching practices are constantly evolving to accommodate the latest innovations in society; therefore, change is required in how we prepare educators to integrate technology into the classroom. As technology continues to change, teachers' practices need to reflect on how teachers are prepared to integrate technology into teaching and learning. Researchers have often found various ways to help prepare teachers to incorporate technology, including field experiences and various program design models. There has been a lack of research within School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) of preservice teachers integrating technology into the classroom. A qualitative phenomenology was conducted among nine preservice SBAE teachers regarding their experiences integrating technology during their time in their teacher education program. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT) served as the theoretical framework to aid in conceptualizing the experiences of preservice SBAE teachers. The thematic findings from this study address the lack of preparation from their teacher education programs, support and expectations, challenges integrating technology into the classroom, succession of technology integration, and technology strategies for teaching and learning. / Doctor of Philosophy / The use of technology in education is more prevalent in today's classrooms than ever before, and teachers are required to revitalize their methods for ensuring student success. Developing an understanding of how technology can appropriately assist both students and teachers in classrooms is vital to ensuring success. Postsecondary teacher education programs are not adequately preparing teachers to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms and curriculum. As graduates leave these programs and enter the classrooms, it is critical that they understand the implications of the various types of technology on student learning. This qualitative research study focuses on understanding how School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) teacher education programs prepare preservice teachers to integrate technology into the classroom. Nine preservice SBAE teachers from the Southeastern region of the United States participated in this study through semi-structured interviews and document collections of course syllabi and lesson plans they created. The preservice teachers showcase a lack of understanding of how to adequately integrate technology in the classroom and highlight the challenges they experience during their student teaching practicum. Additionally, SBAE teacher education programs are not preparing teachers to integrate technology which is a proven challenge among the participants. SBAE teacher education programs should reconsider how they scaffold this to their preservice teachers.