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Our Linguistic and Cultural Resources: The Experiences of Bilingual Prospective Teachers with Mathematics Autobiographies

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Transforming Mathematics Teacher Education

Abstract

This study uses scenarios shared by 28 bilingual (Spanish-English) prospective teachers as a point of departure for teacher preparation programs aiming to provide prospective teachers with situational awareness and instruction attuned to bilingual students’ needs. Twenty-six of the prospective teachers in this study identified as Latinx and reported growing up speaking Spanish at home. Two prospective teachers identified as White and reported growing up speaking only English at home but had the opportunity to learn Spanish at school. Throughout the stories shared in this chapter, we identify five common themes in these prospective teachers’ experiences: (a) their position in the mathematics classroom, (b) their overall academic performance, (c) their mathematics performance, (d) their academic instruction in a language other than their home language (i.e., Spanish), and (e) home values, support, and responsibilities. Through these common themes, we learn how their mathematics learning was impacted over the years. Notably, what these prospective teachers considered negative mathematical experiences provided decisive motivation for turning to mathematics education and finding teaching identities that foreground providing quality mathematics instruction to the bilingual community. The narratives shown here provide evidence of bilingual prospective teachers’ depth of educational insight and demonstrate an understanding of how they evaluate the utility of the instruction they encounter in their preparation as teachers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA

    Gladys H. Krause

  2. Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

    Luz A. Maldonado

Authors
  1. Gladys H. Krause
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  2. Luz A. Maldonado
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gladys H. Krause .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Tonya Gau Bartell

  2. Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Corey Drake

  3. College of Education, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Amy Roth McDuffie

  4. College of Education, University of Washington Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Julia M. Aguirre

  5. Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Erin E. Turner

  6. Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, NY, USA

    Mary Q. Foote

Appendix A: Elementary Mathematics Methods Mathematics Autobiography Activity

Appendix A: Elementary Mathematics Methods Mathematics Autobiography Activity

You will write a “math life story” to reflect on your own experiences with mathematics as a student, and in life, and to think about how those experiences impacted your attitude towards mathematics as well as your understanding of mathematics. You will also reflect on how your own experiences may impact your work as a teacher. Begin by reflecting on the following questions:

  • What do you remember most about learning math in elementary and middle school?

  • How do you feel about math? How have your feelings changed over time?

  • How do you think your school math experiences impacted your attitude towards math?

  • How do you think your school math experiences impacted your understanding of mathematics? What experiences made it easier/harder for you to learn math?

  • What did your teachers do or not do to connect mathematics to your home/cultural/community experiences? How do you think this impacted your experience?

  • How was your math learning supported at home and in your community? Did your parents or other family members engage in activities involving math? Did you do any activities that involved or applied math outside of school (e.g., sports, hobbies, games)?

  • If you received mathematics instruction in a language other than your home language, what was your experience like? What did teacher do or not do to support your learning?

  • In what ways were you alike or different from the other students in your math classes? Consider math backgrounds, ethnicity, race, gender, linguistic, and/or socio-economic backgrounds. Please be specific in your own identification(s) and those of others.

  • How do you think your experiences, feelings and beliefs might impact the kind of mathematics teacher that you will be, or the kind of teacher that you want to be?

For each question, think about specific experiences and events that you remember, instead of just generalities. Make sure to address all questions.

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Krause, G.H., Maldonado, L.A. (2019). Our Linguistic and Cultural Resources: The Experiences of Bilingual Prospective Teachers with Mathematics Autobiographies. In: Bartell, T., Drake, C., McDuffie, A., Aguirre, J., Turner, E., Foote, M. (eds) Transforming Mathematics Teacher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21017-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21017-5_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21016-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21017-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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