Graduation Year

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ed.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Major Professor

Jennifer Jacobs, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Rebecca Burns, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Sarah van Ingen, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovic, Ph.D.

Keywords

teacher education, culturally responsive teaching, elementary mathematics

Abstract

Too often teachers see mathematics as a culturally neutral subject. Teacher educators need to be aware of their own practice and how it impacts the facilitation of preservice teacher learning, in particular in relation to elementary mathematics and culturally responsive teaching. This qualitative self-study focused on understanding a teacher educator’s enactment of an espoused platform in an integrated instructional third space of an elementary field experience and an elementary mathematics methods course in relation to culturally responsive teaching and mathematics. The research questions guiding this self-study were: (1) In the context of the selfstudy, to what extent do I enact my espoused teacher education platform in the integrated instructional third space that exists at the intersection of an undergraduate elementary field experience and an undergraduate elementary mathematics methods course in relation to culturally responsive teaching and mathematics?; with one sub question (a) What facilitators and challenges do I face as I try to navigate living out my espoused platform within this third space?; (2) In the context of the self-study, how do I transform as a teacher educator while engaging in the process of framing and reframing my platform within this integrated instructional third space? The study took place in the unique context of an integrated instructional third space with the same person who served as the instructor of the mathematics methods course and field supervisor.

Data collection included the researcher’s teacher education platform, field notes from observations, and field notes from pre and post conferences with preservice teachers, documents and artifacts from teaching, and a researcher’s journal. The findings pointed to a set of routines of practice for teacher educators to engage in while facilitating preservice teacher learning about culturally responsive teaching and mathematics knowledge for teaching. The routines of practice included: probing questions, utilizing personal connections, offering suggestions, modeling, and targeted activities. The findings also included facilitators and barriers to the process of working with preservice teachers in the integrated instructional third space in relation to their learning of culturally responsive teaching and mathematics; they include: relationships with preservice teachers, relationships with collaborating teachers, and critical conversations. This study has implications for teacher education program design, mathematics course development, field experience course development, and teacher educator professional development.

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