The preparation of elementary school teachers in Indiana for the emerging school mathematics curriculum

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Authors
Smith, Edwin Malcolm Ramsey, 1917-
Advisor
Pole, E. John
Issue Date
1971
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Thesis (D. Ed.)
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which 1966-69 elementary teacher education graduates of selected Indiana institutions of higher education are prepared to teach modern mathematics in schools as measured by: (1) the attitudes of the graduates towards modern mathematics programs and towards mathematics, (2) the exposure to topics in modern mathematics provided in the undergraduate program taken by the graduates, and (3) the modern mathematics teaching procedures presented in taken by the graduates.To make the assessment, three instruments were employed. The Rice Attitude Scale was sent to 977 of the 5883 elementary teacher education graduates and 84 percent of the forms were returned. The Reys Scorecard based on the CUPM Level-I proposals was administered to the twenty-nine instructors in the eight institutions who taught the full sequence of required mathematics courses for elementary education majors. A Checklist of topics which might be presented in the professional courses relevant to the teaching of mathematics in the elementary school was developed for the study and administered to the twenty-two instructors whothe professional courses taught such courses in the eight institutions during the three year period.The attitude scale yielded two scores: the "A-score" - a measure of attitudes towards modern mathematics programs, and the "B-score" - a measure of attitudes towards mathematics. The analysis of the effect of sources of variance showed: "age," "sex," and "grade level taught" had no significant effect on either score; "institution attended," and "experience teaching a modern mathematics program" affected both scores; and "further mathematics courses taken," and "year of graduation" significantly affected the B-score. The Newman-Keuls multiple comparison test showed that graduates of one institution had significantly higher scores on certain variables. Of all the graduates in the sample, 86 percent had favorable attitudes towards modern mathematics programs and 92 percent had favorable attitudes towards mathematics and of these, 22 percent and 39 percent respectively had strongly favorable attitudes. The percentages varied slightly according to institution attended and experience in a modern mathematics program.The analysis of responses to the Reys Scorecard showed that all the topics listed under the CUPM course title "Structure of the Number System" were presented by all instructors with the majority of instructors in four institutions claiming full coverage. Ten out of the fourteen topics listed under the CUPM course title "Geometry" were presented by all instructors. None of the topics listed under the CUPM course title "Algebra" were presented by the majority of instructors in each of four institutions.The items listed on the Checklist completed by instructors of the professional methods courses were grouped under topic headings. Most of the topics thus listed were presented by all instructors. The topic "Specific methods of developing certain concepts" included the unifying concepts of modern mathematics and was presented by all instructors with the majority of instructors in four institutions reporting full discussion. Methods of teaching topics peculiar to modern mathematics were discussed as thoroughly as methods of teaching topics common to traditional mathematics. Four topics related to the experimental projects were not presented by the majority of instructors in most institutions.The research showed the preparation of graduates in the eight institutions to be more adequate than that reported in similar studies. Approximately nine out of every ten graduates had favorable attitudes towards modern mathematics programs and towards mathematics. CUPM Level-I recommendations were fulfilled with the exception of topics in Algebra. The graduates were introduced to modern mathematics teaching procedures but not to the experimental mathematics curriculum projects.