Providing opportunities to develop prospective teachers' pedagogical content knowledge

Abstract

One responsibility of mathematics teacher educators is to provide opportunities for prospective teachers to develop the necessary knowledge to be highly qualified professionals and effective mathematics teachers. Hill, Ball, and Schilling (2008) delineated two major knowledge domains required for mathematics teachers to be effective: subject matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. In this article, based on literature review, we explore specific recommendations for mathematics teacher educators, including mathematicians and novice mathematics teacher educators, on different ways to incorporate lesson ideas into mathematics content courses to help provide opportunities for grades K-8 (age 5-14) prospective teachers' development of pedagogical content knowledge. The work here provides a foundation for mathematics teacher educators' practice, encompassing classroom-based examples and strategies, and offers potential avenues for mathematics teacher educators to conduct their own research on the nature and effectiveness of their course activities that help to promote and develop prospective teachers' pedagogical content knowledge.