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Issues and Trends in Mathematics Teacher Education

International Workshop on Graduate Programs for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Akihiko TakahashiAsia-Pacific Mathematics and Science Education

Collaborative (AP•MSEC)DePaul University

Education in the U.S.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Issues in Mathematics Teacher Preparation in Illinois

• The Need for highly qualified teachers– Study of how students learn– Study of effective curricula– Study of teacher knowledge and expertise– Improving Teacher preparation

• Issues in teaching mathematics in middle school grades– Self-contained or departmentalized

The Need for highly qualified teachers

No Child Left Behind Act 2001

The purpose of this title is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. This purpose can be accomplished by —1. ensuring that high-quality academic assessments,

accountability systems, teacher preparation and training, curriculum, and instructional materials are aligned with challenging State academic standards so that students, teachers, parents, and administrators can measure progress against common expectations for student academic achievement;

2. Cont…

Highly Qualified Teachers

• The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation defines “highly qualified teachers” as teachers who have a bachelor’s degree and full state certification or licensure.

• But teaching mathematics well demands much more. Mathematics teaching at any level requires that teachers have an extensive knowledge of mathematics, including the specialized content knowledge specific to the work of teaching, as well as a knowledge of the mathematics curriculum and how students learn.

• NCTM expects that………http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=6364

• Teacher Quality Partnership Grants

Study of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

The National Council on Teacher Quality: A Review of Illinois Teacher Preparation

http://www.nctq.org/edschoolreports/illinois/

Summary performance of Illinois teacher preparation programs

http://www.nctq.org/edschoolreports/illinois/docs/illinois_report.pdf

• …… Concerning our grades for 111 programs (housed in 53 institutions), only one program earns a grade of A- (undergraduate secondary at Northwestern University), nine programs rise to the top with B grades, 39 fall in the middle with grades in the C range, 43 are unacceptably weak, and 16 fail.

• ……. looking at core content areas, mathematics preparation is inadequate across the board and reading preparation is inadequate in the special education programs at both degree levels.

http://www.nctq.org/edschoolreports/illinois/docs/illinois_report.pdf

Issues in teaching middle school mathematics in Illinois

Student-teacher ration by levelUNESCO 2009

Primary (1-6) Lower Secondary(7-9)

Upper Secondary(10-12)

Sweden 9.8 9.73 9.51

Germany 13.62 12.45 15.69

United States 13.62 14.10 15.10

China 17.68 16.40 16.31

Thailand 17.71 21.46 20.36

Japan 18.48 13.95 10.92

Student-teacher ration by levelUNESCO 2009

Primary (1-6) Lower Secondary(7-9)

Upper Secondary(10-12)

Sweden 9.8 9.73 9.51

Germany 13.62 12.45 15.69

United States 13.62 14.10 15.10

China 17.68 16.40 16.31

Thailand 17.71 21.46 20.36

Japan 18.48 13.95 10.92

Teaching Certificate Types and LevelsIllinois

121110987654321K

High School

Elementary School

Early Childhood

(Birth – Grade 3)

Elementary(K-9)

Secondary(6-12)

The need for Mathematics TeachersWhat should the graduate Programs focus on?

• Moving promising research results into practice– developing skills to effectively access to the research-

based information about teaching and learning mathematics

– Understanding how to examine the effectiveness of the interventions

• Becoming a teacher researcher– Developing skills to design and conduct classroom

research– Knowing the process of publishing research articles in

the professional journals