Guest Editorial… Motivating Growth of Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching: A Case for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education

There is consensus within the teacher education community that effective teaching hinges upon several factors. Those factors include the teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter, ways the subject matter could be manipulated to be made meaningful and accessible to learners, a deep understanding of learners and their developmental trajectories, and a perspective on short and long term trajectory of curriculum. Teachers need to learn how to select appropriate strategies by reflecting on what factors influence the adaptation of particular approaches when teaching specific concepts. They also need to develop a disposition of inquiry and a professional attitude that allows them to continue to learn from practice (Hiebert et al., 2003). A major challenge in mathematics teacher education is fostering prospective teachers’ knowledge base in all these domains. As a means to meet this challenge, scholars have proposed that case-based tasks can serve as a powerful vehicle for advancing teacher learning and nurturing the desired dispositions (Richardson, 1996). It is suggested that as teachers examine dilemma driven tasks and analyze teaching actions they not only learn about teaching but also develop conditional knowledge that is crucial to effective practice (Kishner & Whitson, 1997). In light of these perceived benefits, the use of written, video, or animated case studies in methods courses designed for teachers has gained considerable momentum in the past decade (Merseth, 2003). Certainly, sound analysis of teaching actions calls for deep reflection on the subject matter, the structure of the discipline, and its associated ontological and epistemological obstacles and issues. This specialized body of teaching knowledge can be better nurtured when the contexts for learning are presented to students of teaching at the appropriate time and juncture. As such, content courses for teachers present an ideal environment for raising teachers’ awareness of the complexities of teaching the subject matter to children. When used in a mathematics content course however, the tasks need to be crafted carefully so as to ensure that mathematics is treated soundly while allowing for the development of insight in both areas. Our research was an attempt at first developing and then examining the potential of the type of case-based tasks that could be used in a content course designed for teachers. One research question guided our research efforts: What impact do case-based tasks have on prospective teachers’ mathematics learning when used as instructional tools in a content course required for prospective secondary mathematics teachers? In this article, we will first describe the task we designed and used as the research instrument in our study. Drawing from data collected from two teaching experiments, we will outline ways in which the task seemingly enhanced mathematical and pedagogical development of the participants.