Mathematics Education

This manuscript focuses on the role of data analytics in mediating how teachers make sense of racial and gender inequity in patterns of student participation in their classrooms. Five middle school mathematics teachers participated in a year-long professional development program, centered on data analytics generated by the EQUIP observation tool. Through the authors’ analyses, they documented six distinct teacher logics used to make sense of the data. The articles discussed how these logics were mediated by particular features of the given data visualizations. It closes with recommendations for the future study of the design of data visualizations and a discussion of implication for mathematics teacher education.

Supporting teachers’ implementations of technology in the classroom is a critical and longstanding issue in mathematics education. As access to various technology resources grows, a need exists for professional development opportunities that prepare teachers to integrate technology effectively to support students’ mathematical learning opportunities. Virtual manipulatives (VMs) are one technology tool receiving increased attention. Despite the benefits to student learning, secondary mathematics teachers use VMs less frequently than elementary teachers. Therefore, this study investigated a professional development opportunity aimed at supporting middle and high school mathematics teachers’ implementation of VMs. Findings indicate two tools (a repository of resources and a task analysis framework) supported teachers as they prepared to implement VMs and tasks. Additionally, teachers were further supported via time for active learning (teachers interacting with VMs related to their upcoming instructional units) and collaborative planning.

Structures such as rehearsals have been designed within mathematics education to engage teacher candidates in deliberate practice of specific teaching episodes before enacting within classroom settings. Current research has analyzed traditional rehearsals that involve peers acting as K-12 students as the teacher candidate facilitates an activity; however innovative technologies such as virtual simulation software — Mursion® (developed as TeachLivE™) — offer new opportunities to use student avatars in this context. This work explores the use of rehearsals within virtual simulations as compared to traditional rehearsals by using (nonpooled) two-sample, t-tests to compare changes in the control and comparison groups regarding their use of eliciting strategies. Similarity of the groups in how they develop eliciting strategies presents evidence that virtual simulations have the potential to provide comparable contexts for rehearsals. At the same time, the specific differences between groups prompts further examination of the contexts and patterns in discussion to better understand what is influencing differential change.

Frameworks can influence the work of mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) in many different ways. Frameworks can suggest a structure around which MTEs design instruction, provide a common language for communicating with prospective teachers, and support prospective teachers as they design their own instruction. This paper reports findings related to the frameworks that MTEs are currently using in their work of preparing secondary mathematics teachers to teach with technology. Findings include a list of 17 frameworks, which fall into four categories with respect to their framing: (a) how students use and learn with technology, (b) the design and evaluation of technology tools and tasks, (c) how teachers use technology, and (d) how teachers learn to use technology. The individual frameworks within each category are discussed and implications for mathematics teacher educators are presented. Implications include a critical discussion of what is missing among the frameworks and challenges for the field.