Abstract
Among the initiatives of the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP) is a summer research internship program that places preservice middle grades teachers in extended collaboration with professional mathematicians, scientists, and educators engaged in research and curriculum development activities. We describe the MCTP internship program including the rationale for and structural features of the program. We also highlight the effects of the internship experience on preservice teachers' conceptions of and beliefs about the nature and processes of mathematics and science, and the teaching of mathematics and science. Our findings suggest that the internship experience is a fundamentally significant life experience for preservice teachers. Furthermore, internships have the potential for realizing reform in mathematics and science education; that is, preservice teachers who have participated in MCTP internships intend to bring a holistic, conceptually oriented view of mathematics and science to their classrooms. The paper concludes with a summary of ongoing programmatic and logistical challenges of the MCTP internship program.
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Langford, K., Huntley, M.A. Internships as Commencement: Mathematics and Science Research Experiences as Catalysts for Preservice Teacher Professional Development. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education 2, 277–299 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009954603753
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009954603753