There is a need for research in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teacher education that addresses the challenge of building teachers' pedagogical skills in fostering the development of mathematical reasoning in students. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics provide teachers with guidance on how to promote…

In the context of rapidly changing classroom environments, it is crucial that teachers be able to make appropriate decisions. Those teachers who reflect on their practice, particularly while they are teaching (what Schon terms reflection-in-action), are best able to do so. It is the intent of this article to investigate the role of teacher…

Although preparing teachers to be leaders is a common goal of teacher education programs, often "teaching" and "leading" are located in separate departments" (Mangin & Stoelinga, 2009, p. 56). Recently, however, the assessment of teacher leadership has become important in preservice teacher education. This importance…

As with many previous K-12 educational reform efforts, expectations that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2010) will assist students in learning so that they can prepare for college and the workforce are very high (American College Testing, 2012). Briefly, the CCSS "are designed…

In light of the issue related to consensus about the definition of dispositions and the larger issue pertaining to the absence of a model to predict the growth of pre-service teachers in their knowledge, skills, and dispositions that Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) specify, the purpose of this study is two-fold. First, the authors aim at…

This article is a report of the findings from a sample of approximately 2,700 students and 1,000 faculty in the first 50 Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC)-accredited programs for which the online surveys were used. The sample represents nearly all the full-time faculty members surveyed and approximately 30% of the students. On the…

The United States of the twenty-first century is possibly the most culturally/racially diverse country of any nation in history, and families that are culturally/racially different from mainstream society do not always see that schools are meeting the needs of their children. This diversity in culture and language means that each person is…

In response to a critical need in teacher preparation, study abroad programs aimed at developing multicultural competencies in pre-service teachers have proliferated across the United States. Multicultural competencies constitute the ability to challenge misconceptions that lead to discrimination based on cultural difference, reflect on one's…

The racial/ethnic populations in public schools have changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to shift to a majority non-White population. The National Center for Education Statistics (2010) reports 67.3% of the student population in urban districts is composed of students of color. Yet, the population of teachers in the United…

Recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality secondary mathematics and science teachers are three of the most critical problems in the nation's urban schools that serve a vast majority of children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Although the factors contributing to these problems are complex, one area that has caught…

This study aims to begin to uncover the detailed ways that pre-service elementary teachers examine and understand mathematics teaching, the grain size at which they do so, and what constitutes evidence of teaching mathematics for understanding for pre-service mathematics teachers. Thus, the central research questions for this study are: (a) What…

"Mathematics teacher educator-researcher-mentor" is a mouthful, but an accurate title to describe the range of roles of mathematics teacher educators across the nation and around the world. There is limited research about the professional development of teacher educators and even less research specific to mathematics teacher educators. This…

The foundation of all learning is rooted in the development of language and literacy abilities. Literacy development begins well before children enter school and can accelerate in an early childhood classroom setting. Teacher educators often hear about the importance of literacy development. In particular, the significance of phonological…

Elementary school children in the United States are not developing acceptable levels of mathematical proficiency (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999), and a major concern of teacher educators is that teachers lack the depth and flexibility of mathematical understanding and the corresponding beliefs they need to teach for proficiency…

Elementary school mathematics teaching begins with the teacher's understanding of the mathematical content to be taught. The teacher knows how to "do" the mathematics, i. e., understands the concepts and truths concerning that mathematics. The teacher then decides how to present the mathematics. Based on the students' background in mathematics,…