Mathematics Preservice Teachers Learning About English Language Learners Through Task-Based Interviews and Noticing

Abstract

This article describes the 3rd cycle of an intervention in a mathematics content course that was designed to foster awareness among middle school mathematics preservice teachers (PSTs) of the challenges that English language learner (ELL) students face and the resources they draw on as they learn mathematics and communicate their thinking in English-only classrooms. Pairs of PSTs engaged 2 different ELL students in a videotaped task-based interview using 4 measurement tasks. Following each interview, the PSTs wrote a structured report guided by Mason's (2002) framework of noticing. The results of the intervention indicated that the PSTs went beyond awareness of ELLs' needs and challenges and also adopted strategies outlined in the literature that were aligned with best practices for teaching ELLs. The article also discusses the potential of the intervention and how it can be used by other mathematics educators.

Preservice Teachers' Understanding of 'Real world': Developing a Typology

“…Presumably, they view candy as a neutral context. The PSTs need experiences with students during their preparation so that they can understand the students' perspectives and use this insight as a resource in their teaching (Fernandes, 2012). Participants in our study frequently talked about the need for problems to be relatable to students, showing that they understand the significance of culturally responsive teaching.…”

“…In order to be well-prepared beginning teachers of mathematics who attend to students' lives (AMTE, 2017) and uplift all their identities (Aguirre et al, 2013), PSTs need multicultural experiences and they need spaces to reflect on these experiences (Gay & Kirkland, 2003). Just putting PSTs in diverse environments is not enough and may in fact only exacerbate the issue by reinforcing deficit beliefs about children and making them blind to their own privilege (Fernandes, 2012). Mathematics content courses also have a part to play by giving PSTs multiple opportunities to engage with authentic real-world contexts that investigate topics related to students' lives, injustices, and controversial issues and that serve as windows into the lives of their future students.…”

Preservice teachers’ mathematics task modification for emergent bilinguals

“…As an effort for integrating EB-related content into teacher preparation, Downey and Cobbs (2007) and Pappamihiel (2007) had PSTs teach EBs mathematics in their fieldwork, deepening their understanding in teaching mathematics and the relationship between cultural diversity and learning mathematics. Similarly, Fernandes (2011Fernandes ( , 2012b observed middle school PSTs started adopting EB strategies they learned from the intervention in fieldwork with EBs. Fieldwork with EBs and reading EB literature could be valuable for PSTs to | 129 I learn strategies that support EBs' learning or to understand the linguistic complexity (McLeman, Fernandes, & McNulty, 2012).…”

The language orientations of future mathematics teachers in the United States

“…class observations, interactions with family and friends). Thus, providing the PSTs with structured opportunities to observe best practices with skilled mathematics teachers, along with guided reflection, can impact their language orientations (Fernandes, 2012). The PSTs in this study were open to the use of the native language in the mathematics classroom.…”