Published:
Fall, 2007
Source: Teacher Education and Special Education, v. 30 no. 4, (Fall 2007) p. 199-216
NCLB requires states to provide highly qualified educators for all students. Highly qualified educators should have content knowledge in the areas they teach and the pedagogical expertise to produce student educational gains. In this study, researchers examined the effects of an online mathematics methods class on preservice teachers' knowledge of instructional planning, classroom instructional planning performance; and classroom pupil outcomes in mathematics.
The study addressed the following research questions:
1. To what extent do preservice teachers' performance, on a case study knowledge measure, increase after completing an online mathematics methods class?
2. Given an increase in instructional planning knowledge, to what extent do preservice teachers apply this knowledge in a practicum setting?
3. To what extent do preservice teachers' pupils increase their performance on targeted mathematics skills?
4. To what extent do preservice teachers value the online mathematics methods course?
Participants
Preservice Teachers - Potential participants included 23 students enrolled in an on-campus math methods class.
Pupils - A total of 26 pupils with disabilities and 6 pupils without disabilities participated in the study.
Preservice teachers acquired instructional planning skills taught through online instruction and utilized these skills in a subsequent classroom placement. Instructional planning combined with classroom supervision contributed to an increase in pupil's mathematics performance.
Results are discussed in terms of participant acquisition of online course materials, classroom application of course materials, and pupil outcomes in mathematics.