It is important for pre-service teachers to not be "tied" to one teacher during their field experiences in math methods courses. Additionally, not factoring pre-service teachers' choice in these field placements leads to discontent, frustration, and often times "mimicking" of the host teacher's teaching. To combat these issues, pre-service teachers enrolled in math methods courses were asked to rotate between a set of mentor teachers. This process proved to be advantageous as it provided opportunities for the pre-service teachers to see, learn, and make sense of a variety of instructional strategies at play in different teachers' classrooms. The interactions with the teachers also helped pre-service teachers carve their own teaching philosophy and methods.
Are you someone who supports (or wants to support) elementary pre-service teachers’ or new teachers’ learning? Are you looking for ways to help teachers enact equitable math instruction? In this session, we share how teaching cases can be useful for helping pre-service or in-service teachers grapple with the challenges of enacting equitable math instruction. We will share examples of teaching cases that have been designed by current teachers to depict the challenges they’ve encountered when trying to teach elementary math equitably. These cases take up issues such as power dynamics in group work, curriculum that is not representative of students’ experiences, and the impact of cultural beliefs and practices on math learning. We’ll share several cases with participants, engage in discussions about what teachers might learn from the cases, and brainstorm ideas for new cases that can further support teacher learning.
