This study describes preservice teachers' beliefs about teaching mathematics for social justice (TMSJ) after experiencing a two-part professional development (PD) workshop on the subject. The research question is: To what degree does a PD experience, designed by a preservice teacher, influence preservice teachers' beliefs about TMSJ? The lead…

A large body of research literature has explored socio-scientific issues (SSIs) in science teaching and learning, documenting the impact of epistemic beliefs on epistemic emotion, which influences student's reactions to complex scientific topics. Often, students' reactions reflect scientific misconceptions, the correction of which may result in…

According to Social Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy describes students' beliefs in their ability to be successful within a certain task or domain. Though some contributions to self-efficacy are generally accepted, it is important to continue to look for additional factors that contribute to self-efficacy, especially those that provide…

In this article, we describe the case of "Keri," a fifth-grade teacher who had completed an Elementary Mathematics Specialist (EMS) certification program. Drawn from a larger study investigating the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of EMSs, Keri's case was unique in that she was teaching mathematics to four classes in a departmentalized…

Mindsets have been shown to greatly influence individuals' efforts and subsequent success in the endeavors they attempt. This is particularly true of mathematical endeavors where mindset impacts the ways in which individuals approach and persevere in learning. This exploratory study investigated the mathematical mindsets held by 242 prospective…

Innovation is more imperative now than ever before given the upcoming shortage in prepared teachers and the need to produce students with a strong knowledge of mathematics. A sense of urgency is impacting teacher education/preparation programs as instructional practices need to discover how to arm teachers to increase the number of students to be…

Developing student capacity for the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce requires not only better preparation in specific content and skills but also better preparation in understanding the goals that STEM fields can afford. In particular, stereotypic views that STEM fields lack communal opportunities to work with and help…

This study examines shifts in science teachers' (N = 15) beliefs and practices within the context of a research-practice partnership (RPP) that developed and implemented curriculum modules in middle school science classrooms. Interview, document, and observation data gathered over the course of the project indicate that the vast majority of…

This study analyzed data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Study of secondary education teachers to investigate differences in instructional practices of mathematics and science teachers in relation to the percentage of English learners (EL) they instruct. The study used a series of regression models to examine if EL class…

Teachers need the opportunity to reflect, rethink, and adapt as they continually develop their image of their role in their mathematics classrooms. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine how the Draw-a-Mathematics-Teacher-Test (DAMTT) and rubric can be used to assess preservice elementary teachers' images of and beliefs about their…

This quantitative study investigated the relationships among practicing elementary teachers' (N = 153) beliefs about mathematics and its teaching and learning, mathematics anxiety, and instructional practices in mathematics. When viewed singly, the findings reveal the teachers with higher levels of mathematics anxiety tend to use less…

With ongoing underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, it is necessary to explore ways to maintain girls' STEM interest throughout elementary and middle school. This study is situated within the context of Designs in STEM (pseudonym), an out-of-school program that engages urban youth in authentic STEM experiences. Participants were 30 girls…

Efforts to measure teacher self-efficacy beliefs have built upon the theories of Albert Bandura. Continuing in that vein, the purpose of this study was to develop a measure that assesses teachers' efficacy and expectancy beliefs regarding teaching mathematics with an emphasis on conceptual understanding and mathematical practices, and to use this…

The Going Green! Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World project aims to direct middle school students' enthusiasm for hands-on activities toward interest in science and other STEM areas while guiding them to solve real-world problems. Students in this project are taught by their teachers to use energy monitoring equipment to audit standby power…

Given the increasing number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in secondary mathematics classrooms, it is imperative that mathematics teacher educators develop measures for determining how and why secondary mathematics teachers (SMTs) understand and respond instructionally to these students. This paper reports on the initial development and…