Drawing Taylor Swift, Orcas are Dolphins, & “What if” Questions

Creating a Third Space to Reflect in an Elementary Mathematics Field Experience for Preservice Teachers

Authors

Keywords:

pre-service teachers, clinical experiences, mathematics teacher education mentors, mathematics education

Abstract

In preservice teacher education, there is often a tension between the realities of in-field experience and the theoretical knowledge of higher academia. This article reveals the benefits of an elementary mathematics education mentor-supervised clinical experience and the creation of a third space to bridge these tensions to cohesively traverse between practice to theory. Moreover, we provide this third space by sharing reflections on the challenges faced in our own in-field experience in hopes that others gain insight on a different mathematics field experience, how to support that transition from practice back to theory, and how to pivot when things do not go as planned.

Author Biographies

Kelsly Chatraw, University of Florida

Kelsly M. Chatraw (kchatraw@ufl.edu) is a preservice teacher at the University of Florida, currently earning her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. She is passionate about childrens’ mathematical connection-making, EB (emergent bilingual) language development, and students’ mental health. Her personal interests include reading, hiking, and painting.

Melissa Soto, University of Florida

Melissa M. Soto (msoto@ufl.edu) is a Clinical Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Florida. She has spent the last 15 years providing Cognitively Guided Instruction mathematics professional development to K-6th grade teachers. Her research focuses on young children’s mathematical thinking, teacher knowledge of classroom practices, and lesson study. Her personal interests include traveling, reading, and growing succulents.

References

Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. (2017). Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics. Available online at amte.net/standards.

Bjerke, A. H., & Nolan, K. (2023, June). The return to university after fieldwork: Toward disrupting practice-theory challenges identified by mathematics teacher educators. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 8, p. 1129206). Frontiers Media SA.

Cooper, S., & Nesmith, S. (2013). Exploring the role of field experience context in preservice teachers' development as mathematics educators. Action in Teacher Education, 35(3), 165-185.

Parks, A. N., Wager, A. A. (2019). Focusing the video lenses tool to build deeper understandings of early childhood contexts. In Bartell, T., Drake, C., McDuffie, A., Aguirre, J., Turner, E., Foote, M. (Eds.). Transforming Mathematics Teacher Education, pp. 107-118. Springer, Cham.

Roland, K. (2010). Associate teacher perspectives of the triumvirate relationship in teacher education: The role of faculty advisors. Brock University, 19(2), 36–47.

Wyss, V. L., Siebert, C. J., & Dowling, K. A. (2012). Structuring effective practicum experiences for pre-service teachers. Education, 132(3), 600–606.

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Published

2024-08-25

How to Cite

Chatraw, K., & Soto, M. (2024). Drawing Taylor Swift, Orcas are Dolphins, & “What if” Questions: Creating a Third Space to Reflect in an Elementary Mathematics Field Experience for Preservice Teachers. hio ournal of chool athematics, 97(1), 62–69. etrieved from http://voyager.janeway.systems:9999/index.php/OJSM/article/view/10026

Issue

Vol. 97: Summer 2024

Section

Articles

License

By submitting this agreement, the author hereby grants to The Ohio State University, on behalf of its University Libraries