Jack Carter

Mathematical website constructions for prospective elementary school teachers

This study explored the performance of pre-service elementary school mathematics teachers who created, modified, and uploaded web pages for a future classroom site. Results showed the prospective teachers were successful: (1) using a web page editor, images, and links to prepare their individual website projects; and (2) completing examination items related to website construction. More than 70% of the future teachers indicated they enjoyed the project, and an equal percentage reported they had learned web page editing skills. Suggestions for enhancing the changed curriculum included increasing the emphasis on mathematics learning and better integrating content on spreadsheets and websites.

A cross‐national comparison of programmes for the preparation of secondary school mathematics teachers at selected institutions in the People's Republic of China and the United States

A comparative study of preservice secondary mathematics teacher education in the Peoples Republic of China and the United States was conducted by examining the curricula and teaching practices of institutions of higher learning of both countries. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that included items about mathematical content, pedagogy, and the practices in curricula of the teacher training institutions. The findings indicated that Chinese prospective mathematics teachers spend substantially more hours in mathematics classes and study more advanced mathematical topics than do their American counterparts. However, a measure of similarity was found in the way classes were conducted. The majority of time in mathematics classes in both countries was spent in lecturing followed by discussion of homework and board work. Similarly, the majority of time in pedagogy classes in both countries was spent lecturing followed by students working on in‐class activities.

Integrating graphing technology into teacher education: a case study of an algebra program for prospective secondary school mathematics teachers

The use of technology to facilitate algebraic learning has recently flourished. Using graphing technology, researchers have found that it becomes very natural to add visualisation to the standard algebraic techniques used in the mathematics curriculum. In particular, students utilising computer graphing have been found to solve more complex equations, even equations that do not admit an algebraic solution. The research literature also supports the enhancement of algebraic thinking in students through open-ended and exploratory activities that focus on applications, alternative representations of functions, and the use of graphing technology. This case study investigated a pre-service education course for prospective secondary school mathematics teachers which utilised activities, such as those described above, that were especially well facilitated through the use of graphing technology.