Author(s):
Tracy E. Dobie, Lauren Barth-Cohen, Lynne Zummo, Connor Warner
University of Utah
Need:
“Developing and Implementing Case-Based Scenarios to Support Elementary Pre-service Teachers’ Enactment of Equitable Mathematics and Science Instruction” (DUE-IUSE, #2142136) addresses two persistent challenges in elementary teacher preparation: mitigating deepening inequities in schools and bridging the theory-practice divide. First, teaching that does not attend to the wide-ranging cultural differences and resources students bring to school contributes to furthering historic inequities (Banks, 2019), with children from non-dominant backgrounds experiencing limited opportunities for academic success (NCES, 2019). In contrast, teaching that attends to these differences and incorporates students’ cultures and communities raises the achievement of all learners (Dee & Penner, 2017; Gay, 2002). Second, the theory-practice divide refers to the fact that teacher preparation takes place primarily in university courses, generally considered the realm of theory, which prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) to enter P-12 schools, the domain of practice (Zeichner, 2010). While teacher preparation field work in classrooms is meant to provide PSTs the space to meaningfully merge theory and practice, field work experiences have been unpredictable and idiosyncratic (Hollins, 2015).
We address these challenges by bringing in-service teacher expertise into pre-service methods courses through the use of case-based scenarios (cases). We help teachers draw on their own experiences to design cases that depict challenges related to enacting equitable mathematics and science instruction. We conceptualize equitable teaching in terms of culturally grounded pedagogy (CGP), integrating concepts from Aguirre et al. (2013), Banks (2019), Gay (2002), Ladson-Billings (1995; 2014) and Paris (2012) to characterize teaching that 1) leverages students’ multiple strengths and competencies, 2) honors students’ lived experiences, 3) dismantles power and status hierarchies, and 4) diversifies curriculum and challenges dominant perspectives. Cases are used in math and science methods courses to support PSTs’ developing understanding of CGP.
Guiding Questions:
• What practices support elementary teachers to draw on their own experiences to design mathematics and science teaching cases that are likely to facilitate PST learning related to CGP?
• What understandings related to CGP emerge in PSTs’ responses to case prompts?
Outcomes:
Analyses of written and audio data from synchronous virtual workshops revealed three aspects of the workshops that supported teachers’ case design: collaborating with other teachers, providing and receiving peer feedback on cases, and working with a table we developed focused on features of CGP (Dobie et al., in press). These three impactful elements of workshops served dual roles: first, to help teachers draw on their experiences while designing cases, and second, to further teachers’ own learning related to CGP in math and science. Ongoing analyses are characterizing trajectories of understandings that PSTs exhibited related to the four CGP features while working with cases.
Broader Impacts:
These findings offer suggestions for design features that support teachers to design cases focused on equitable mathematics and science instruction while also enhancing teachers’ own learning. The Features of CGP table is a tool that can be used across contexts, and cases developed are being made available via a free database, along with guidelines for using cases with PSTs and supporting teachers to develop their own cases.
References
Aguirre, J., Mayfield-Ingram, K., & Martin, D. (2013). The impact of identity in K-8 mathematics: Rethinking equity-based practices. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Banks, J. A. (2019). An introduction to multicultural education (Sixth edition). Pearson.
Dee, T. S., & Penner, E. K. (2017). The causal effects of cultural relevance: Evidence from an ethnic studies curriculum. American Educational Research Journal, 54(1), 127–166. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831216677002
Dobie, T.E., Zummo, L., Biddle, A.P., Barth-Cohen, L., Warner, C., Galvez Sghiatti, D., & Daniels, M. (in press). Elementary teachers designing culturally grounded cases for preservice teachers: A process for reciprocal learning. Mathematics Teacher Educator.
Gay, G. (2002). Preparing for culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(2), 106-116.
Hollins, E. R. (2015). Rethinking field experiences in preservice teacher preparation: Meeting new challenges for accountability. New York: Routledge.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: A.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74–84. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2019). The Nation’s Report Card. 2019 Mathematics State Snapshot Report. Utah, Grade 8. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2019/pdf/2020013UT8.pdf Retrieved April 1, 2024.
Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12441244
Zeichner, K. (2010). Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college- and university-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1–2), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109347671
Coauthors
Lauren Barth-Cohen, Lynne Zummo, Connor Warner; University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
