The Struggles of Kay and Aaron: Mathematics Minors in a Constructivist Paradigm of Elementary Mathematics Instruction

This study investigated the struggles of two preservice elementary teachers in a mathematics methods course. Kay and Aaron elected mathematics as their content minor and indicated they had always been "good" in mathematics. In the methods course, they were challenged to rethink the nature of mathematics learning in a constructivist paradigm. Their development in learning to teach mathematics was compared to a model of teachers' developing pedagogical conceptions originally proposed by Ambon and Hutcheson and other researchers associated with the Developmental Teacher Education program at the University of California (Berkeley). Data sources included interviews, observations, artifacts, and assessments of mathematics teaching efficacy. Aaron and Kay entered the course with conceptions of learning mathematics as memorization of facts and procedures. Aaron continued to struggle with his belief regarding the nature of mathematics learning as "practice." Kay progressed in her desire to understand, explain reasons, and use manipulative materials. The development of these preservice teachers supported the Ambon and Hutcheson model and provided a useful framework for understanding the developing conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning for these prospective teachers. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/JB)