Improving Pre-service teachers’ understanding of complexity of mathematics instructional practice through deliberate practice

Many teacher education programs are criticized for their failure to prepare pre-service teachers to utilize and transfer their knowledge of content and educational principles into authentic classroom teaching. Studies also consistently report that pre-service teachers’ ability to identify what is noteworthy about a mathematics classroom situation was lacking. This study investigated the effect of the intervention program, Study of Teaching, on pre-service teachers’ acquisition of three designated mathematics teaching skills, how much they understood about the complexity of mathematics teaching, and their professional growth. We began with the assumption that preservice teachers’ ability to discern the ‘critical aspects’ of mathematics classroom instruction could be enhanced through enacting reduced length microteaching sessions. Our results indicate that reduced microteaching in the setting, as in our intervention program, provide pre-service teachers with a safe environment to practise teaching. In general, this project found that preservice teachers’ awareness of the complexity and intricacy of actual classroom teaching of mathematics had been greatly enhanced following this intervention.