Preparing Graduate Students to Teach Math: Engaging with Activities and Viewing Teaching Models

Teacher self-efficacy is the belief a teacher holds that he or she can make a difference in student achievement, even when the student is difficult or unmotivated (Guskey & Passaro, 1994). It has been linked to positive teacher practices and student outcomes. This mixed methods study of preservice elementary and early childhood math teachers explored how having students engage in hands-on activities and view video teaching models in a graduate mathematics methods course influenced their teacher selfefficacy for math. The study took place in two phases, with course modifications made between the two. Statistical analyses of preand post-test scores on the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument showed positive outcomes in Phase 1 but not Phase 2. Qualitative data in both phases suggested working with hands-on materials and viewing video models was beneficial to building student self-efficacy and in improving mathematical content knowledge. It was the first day of class in a mathematics, technology, and science methods course in a graduate teacher preparation program. Like many instructors, I took time during class to review the course syllabus, briefly discuss assignments, and explain how we would be engaging in a combination of theory and practice as we worked toward meeting the course learning outcomes. When I finished, a student’s hand went up. “Are we actually going to have to do math? ” asked the student. “Of course,” I said, “This is a course about math.” The class broke into concerned whispers, eye rolls, and quiet nervous laughter. As a means of concluding class, I asked the students to complete an exit pass, to share what they were most and least excited about as we prepared to move forward in the course. Reading them after class, I saw the in-class sentiment echoed on paper. “I am awful at math,” shared one student. “I am least excited about math! I am terrible at it! ” said another. A third student addressed her concerns in a subtler way stating, “I am looking forward to getting more comfortable with math.” While this incident reflected what An On-line Journal for Teacher Research Networks: Vol. 18, Issue 2 ISSN 2470-6353 Fall 2016 Boeke Mongillo 2 happened one specific semester, I have found many students who take this course express fear or dislike of math and often share they do not feel they were successful math students. Of additional concern to me as a math methods teacher, is many of my students go on to teach in schools where their classes include children from racial and ethnic minorities or who have lower socio-economic status. National data indicate these groups of students tend to perform well below white students or those from higher income homes on state and national math tests (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). When I paired this with the abundance of negative comments regarding math from students, I began to be worried about how they might carry these attitudes with them into their own classrooms. I want them to help close the gap through their attitudes and instructional practices, not widen it. Consequently, these concerns led me to want to change my teaching. I began to wonder, how can teacher self-efficacy for math be raised for graduate students during the methods course? Would a combination of hands-on math activities, paired with watching video teaching models using a viewing protocol have an effect? How might increasing understandings of math content and instructional strategies contribute to an increase in teacher self-efficacy?