Preservice teachers learning to teach proof through classroom implementation: Successes and challenges

• Published in: The Journal of mathematical behavior Vol. 58; p. 100779
• Main Authors: Buchbinder, Orly, McCrone, Sharon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Mathematical knowledge for teaching; Practice-based teacher education; Preservice secondary teachers; Reasoning and proof; Preservice secondary teachers; Mathematical knowledge for teaching; Reasoning and proof; Practice-based teacher education
• ISSN: 0732-3123; 1873-8028
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2020.100779

•A capstone course aimed to prepare preservice secondary teachers to integrate logical aspects of proof in secondary mathematics classrooms.•Course design aligned with a framework of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Proof (MKT-P).•60 Lesson plans and 13 videos of lessons enacted in secondary classrooms were analyzed in terms of prospective teachers’ MKT-P.•PSTs were successful in designing and implementing proof-oriented lessons in a wide range of mathematical content areas.•Challenges to proof integration were PSTs’ doubts about student ability to prove and difficulty adjusting their language to student grade level. Proof and reasoning are central to learning mathematics with understanding. Yet proof is seen as challenging to teach and to learn. In a capstone course for preservice teachers, we developed instructional modules that guided prospective secondary mathematics teachers (PSTs) through a cycle of learning about the logical aspects of proof, then planning and implementing lessons in secondary classrooms that integrate these aspects with traditional mathematics curriculum in the United States. In this paper we highlight our framework on mathematical knowledge for teaching proof and focus on some of the logical aspects of proof that are seen as particularly challenging (four proof themes). We analyze 60 lesson plans, video recordings of a subset of 13 enacted lessons, and the PSTs’ self- reported data to shed light on how the PSTs planned and enacted lessons that integrate these proof themes. The results provide insights into successes and challenges the PSTs encountered in this process and illustrate potential pathways for preparing PSTs to enact reasoning and proof in secondary classrooms. We also highlight the design principles for supporting the development of PSTs’ mathematical knowledge for teaching proof.