Volume 104 (8), December 2004

Table of Contents

Abstract

The Influences of Three Interventions on Prospective Elementary Teachersâ Beliefs About the Knowledge Base Needed for Teaching Mathematics

Maria A. Timmerman, University of Virginia

To meet the challenge to reform mathematics education, effective opportunities to learn are needed to promote prospective elementary school teachersâ development of the knowledge base that supports teaching for mathematical proficiency. This article describes three professional development interventions and their influence on prospective teachersâ beliefs about mathematics, how children learn mathematics, and mathematics teaching. The three interventions consisted of problem-solving journals, structured interviews, and peer teaching that were integrated in a PreK-6 mathematics methods course. Results of precourse and postcourse survey data are included that measured 24 prospective teachersâ beliefs about the knowledge base needed to teach elementary school mathematics. Data indicated that using these interventions and other course experiences facilitated change in the prospective teachersâ beliefs, with a shift toward reform-oriented mathematics education perspectives. 

Revisiting the STEBI-B: Measuring Self-Efficacy in Preservice Elementary Teachers

Robert E. Bleicher, California State University   Channel Islands

The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-Preservice (STEBI-B) has been used in many studies to measure science teaching self-efficacy and outcome expectancy in preservice elementary teachers. Since its development in 1990, there have been no studies that have re-examined its internal validity and reliability. The purpose of this study was to do so. Two hundred ninety preservice elementary teachers participated in this study. The STEBI-B was administered at the beginning of science methods courses. A factor analysis established that the two subscales, Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Belief (PSTE) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE), on the STEBI-B were homogeneous, and loadings were comparable to those reported by Enochs and Riggs (1990). Two items on the STOE were found to exhibit cross-loading on the factor analysis, as well as low item-total correlations. These two items were modified and the revised instrument administered to 86 new participants. Both revised items loaded more clearly on the STOE subscale, and item-total correlations were stronger. Comparison of means analyses showed that gender, number of science courses taken, and school science experiences had significant associations with PSTE. The STEBI-B continues to be employed in hundreds of studies to measure science teaching self-efficacy. It is important to continue to monitor its reliability and validity, as well as check on associations with various background variables. The modified STEBI-B is included in an appendix with this article.

Using Teacher Portfolios to Enrich the Methods Course Experiences of Prospective Mathematics Teachers

Christopher Hartmann, Fay School

This paper illustrates ways to employ teacher portfolios to improve the quality of methods course experiences for prospective mathematics teachers. Based upon research conducted in an undergraduate teacher preparation program, this case study describes how the author used teacher portfolios to mentor prospective teachers in new ways. The case describes the authorâs experiences through a case study of his assessment of and response to one prospective teacherâs portfolio. This portfolio illustrated themes that were present in other teachersâ portfolios, but did so in ways that highlighted strategies for change to the methods course. Through the lens of this teacherâs portfolio the author identified specific ways that the prospective teacherâs beliefs were impacting her teaching practice, a result that enabled him to better help all of the teachers in the methods course reflect on their teaching. By providing a detailed account of the feedback process that led to this result, this paper illustrates how mathematics teacher educators can use prospective teachersâ portfolios to enrich the quality of their methods courses.

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