This book examines new trends and developments in research related to the mathematical education of pre-service elementary teachers, and explores the implications of these research advances for theory and practice in teacher education. The book is organized around the following four overarching themes: pre-service teachers’ mathematics content and mathematics-specific pedagogical preparation; professional growth through activities and assessment tools used in mathematics teacher preparation programs; pre-service mathematics teachers’ knowledge and beliefs; and perspectives on noticing in the preparation of elementary mathematics teachers. Including contributions from researchers working in 11 different countries, the book offers a forum for discussing and debating the state of the art regarding the mathematical preparation of pre-service elementary teachers. By presenting and discussing the findings of research conducted in different countries, the book offers also opportunities to readers to learn about varying teacher education practices around the world, such as: innovative practices in advancing or assessing teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, similarities and differences in the formal mathematics education of teachers, types of and routes in teacher education, and factors that can influence similarities or differences.

The need to improve the mathematical proficiency of elementary teachers is well recognized, and it has long been of interest to educators and researchers in the U.S. and many other countries. But the specific proficiencies that elementary teachers need and the process of developing and improving them remain only partially conceptualized and not well validated empirically. To improve this situation, national workshops were organized at Texas A&M University to generate focused discussions about this important topic, with participation of mathematicians, mathematics educators and teachers. Developing Mathematical Proficiency for Elementary Instruction is a collection of articles that grew out of those exciting cross-disciplinary exchanges. Developing Mathematical Proficiency for Elementary Instruction is organized to probe the specifics of mathematical proficiency that are important to elementary teachers during two separate but inter-connected professional stages: as pre-service teachers in a preparation program, and as in-service teachers teaching mathematics in elementary classrooms. From this rich and inspiring collection, readers may better understand, and possibly rethink, their own practices and research in empowering elementary teachers mathematically and pedagogically, as educators or researchers.

Tools and Processes in Mathematics Teacher Education describes and analyze various promising tools and processes, from different perspectives, aimed at facilitating mathematics teacher learning/development. It provides insights of how mathematics teacher educators think about and approach their work with teachers.

The purpose of this Open Access compendium, written by experienced researchers in mathematics education, is to serve as a resource for early career researchers in furthering their knowledge of the state of the field and disseminating their research through publishing. To accomplish this, the book is split into four sections: Empirical Methods, Important Mathematics Education Themes, Academic Writing and Academic Publishing, and a section Looking Ahead. The chapters are based on workshops that were presented in the Early Career Researcher Day at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13). The combination of presentations on methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives shaping the field in mathematics education research, as well as the strong emphasis on academic writing and publishing, offered strong insight into the theoretical and empirical bases of research in mathematics education for early career researchers in this field. Based on these presentations, the book provides a state-of-the-art overview of important theories from mathematics education and the broad variety of empirical approaches currently widely used in mathematics education research. This compendium supports early career researchers in selecting adequate theoretical approaches and adopting the most appropriate methodological approaches for their own research. Furthermore, it helps early career researchers in mathematics education to avoid common pitfalls and problems while writing up their research and it provides them with an overview of the most important journals for research in mathematics education, helping them to select the right venue for publishing and disseminating their work.

Educators require constructive information that details their students’ comprehension and can help them to advance the learners' education. Accurate evaluation of students at all educational levels and the implementation of comprehensive assessment strategies are essential for ensuring student equality and academic success. The Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K Through Elementary Classrooms is an essential research publication that addresses gaps in the understanding of formative assessment and offers educators meaningful and comprehensive examples of formative assessment in the Pre-K through elementary grade levels. Covering an array of topics such as literacy, professional development, and educational technologies, this book is relevant for instructors, administrators, education professionals, educational policymakers, pre-service teachers, academicians, researchers, and students.

This book is an edited volume addressing specific issues of significance for individuals involved with the undergraduate mathematics content preparation of prospective elementary teachers (PSTs). Teaching mathematics content courses to this group of students presents unique challenges. While some PSTs enter their teacher preparation with weak mathematical skills and knowledge, many also hold negative attitudes, anxiety, and misguided beliefs about mathematics. This book is designed to support instructors who teach these students in mathematics content for elementary teachers courses. Elementary teachers need a richly developed understanding of the mathematics they are teaching in order to teach it effectively. Providing them with the needed preparation is difficult, but can be eased with a solid understanding of the mathematical concerns and limitations PSTs bring to the learning of mathematics and a familiarity with the standards and curricula topics PSTs will be expected to teach. Chapter One makes the argument that elementary mathematics is not trivial. This is followed by an analysis of four central issues related to the mathematical preparation of elementary teachers, specifically: (1) selecting/creating/modifying and implementing mathematical tasks (2) noticing/understanding children’s ways of thinking as a foundation for learning mathematics, (3) developing mathematical habits of mind in PSTs, and (4) understanding the role affect plays in the mathematical learning of PSTs. The final chapter presents three international examples of programs that currently consider these factors in the implementation of their courses.

This book brings together research from mathematics education and instructional design to describe the development and impact of online environments on prospective and practicing teachers’ learning to teach mathematics. The move to online learning has steadily increased over the past decade. Its most rapid movement occurring in 2020 with most instruction taking place remotely. Chapters in this book highlight issues related to teacher learning in three main contexts: formal, informal, and experiential or practice-based. This volume brings together researchers from the different but related fields of instructional design and mathematics education to engage in dialogue around how we design and study the impacts of online learning in general and online mathematics education more specifically. The book is very timely with most instruction taking place online and mathematics educators addressing challenges related to supporting teachers’ formal, informal, and experiential learning online. A chapter in each section will synthesize ideas presented by instructional designers and mathematics educators as it relates to teacher learning in each context. At the end of each section, a retrospective chapter is presented to reflect on what the different perspectives offer to better understand mathematics teacher learning in online environments. This book is of interest to mathematics educators, researchers, teacher educators, professional development providers, and instructional designers.