Abstract
In this study discourse and conversation analyses were performed on talk by science and mathematics teaching faculty participating in reforming content courses for teacher candidates participating in a mathematics and science teacher preparation project (upper elementary and middle level). The context of the study was the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP), a National Science Foundation funded project in the USA. The study's goal was to explore the use of discourse and conversation analyses as ways to understand faculty beliefs concerning mathematics and science, two disciplines the MCTP project aimed to connect. Discussion focused on two areas: (1) the comparison of the discourse on science and mathematics by the science, mathematics, and pedagogy content specialists, and (2) the impact of collaboration on the science and mathematics teaching faculty's conversation on science and mathematics. An implication of this study is to promote the analysis of talk as way to inform and direct faculty transformation in science and mathematics teacher education programs. Future research is recommended.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Alasuutari, P.(1995).Researching culture: Qualitative method and cultural studies.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).(1989).Science for all Americans.New York: Oxford Univ.Press.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).(1993).Benchmarks for science literacy.New York: Oxford Univ.Press.
Bickel, W.E. & Hattrup, R.A.(1995).Teachers and researchers in collaboration: Reflections on the process.American Educational Research Journal, 32, 35–62.
Bruffee, K.A.(1986).Social construction, language, and the authority of knowledge: A bibliographical essay.College English, 49, 773–789.
Clark, C.W. & Peterson, P.L.(1986).Teacher's thought processes.In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching, 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
Cobb, P.(1988).The tension between theories of learning and instruction in mathematics education.Educational Psychologist, 23(2), 87–103.
Cobb, P. & Baursfeld, H.(1995).The emergence of mathematical meaning: Interaction in classroom cultures.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cobb, P., Wood, T., Yackel, E. & McNeal, B.(1992).Characteristics of classroom mathematics traditions: An interactional analysis.American Educational Research Journal, 29, 573–604.
Denton, J.J. & Metcalf, T.(1993).Two school-university collaborations: Characteristics and findings from classroom observations.Report No. EA 025227, Atlanta, GA: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED 361850.
Driver (1987).Promoting conceptual change in classroom settings: The experience of the Children's Learning in science project.In J.D. Novak (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Seminar on Misconceptions and Educational Strategies in Science and Mathematics, Vol.II.(pp.97–107).Ithaca, NY: Department of Education, Cornell University.
Erickson, F.(1986).Qualitative methods in research and teaching.In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on science teaching, 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan.
Gardner, M.B. & Ayres, D.(Eds.).(1998).Journeys of transformation: A statewide effort by mathematics and science professors to improve student understanding.Case reports from participants in the Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation.Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation.
Gee, J.(1990).Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses.London: Falmer.
Gergen, J.G.(1985).The social constructionist movement in modern psychology.American Psychologist, 40, 266–275.
Green, J.L., Weade, R. & Graham, K.(1988).Lesson construction and student participation: A sociolinguistic analysis.In J.L. Green& J.O. Harker (Eds.), Multiple perspective analyses of classroom discourse (pp.11–47).Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Greeno, J.G.(1991).Number sense as situated knowing in a conceptual domain.Journal in Research in Mathematics Education, 22, 170–218.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E.(1991).Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.New York: Cambridge Univ.Press.
Layman, J. & McGinnis, J.R.(1999, January).The influence of an introductory physics course on elementary education majors.A paper presented at the American Association of Physics Teachers, Anaheim, CA.
LeCompte, M.D., Millroy, W.L. & Priessle, J.(Eds.).(1992).The handbook of qualitative research in education.San Diego: Academic Press.
Lemke, J.(1990).Talking science: Language, learning and values.Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Maryland Collaborative for Teacher Preparation (MCTP).(1996).Remarks for December 9, 1996 NSF review.Unpublished manuscript.University of Maryland, College Park.
Maturana, H.(1978).Biology of language: The epistemology of reality.In G.A. Miller& E. Lenneberg (Eds.), Psychology and biology of language and thought: Essays in honor of Eric Lenneberg (pp.27–63).New York: Academic Press.
McCarthy, S.J.(1994).Authors, text, and talk: The internalization of dialogue from social interaction during writing.Reading Research Quarterly, 29, 201–231.
McGinnis, J.R.(2000).Walking the tightrope between the world of academia and the world of work.In T. Koballa& D.J. Tippins (Eds.), The promises and dilemmas of teaching middle and secondary science: A classroom case handbook (pp.244–248).Upper Saddle Ridge, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.
McGinnis, J.R., Kramer, S., Shama, G., Graeber, A., Parker, C. & Watanabe, T.(October 2002).Undergraduates' attitudes and beliefs of subject matter and pedagogy measured longitudinally in a reform-based mathematics and science teacher preparation program.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39, 8.
Munby, H.(1986).A qualitative study of teacher's beliefs and principles.Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada.
Mura, R.(1995).Images of mathematics held by university teachers of mathematics education.Educational Studies in Mathematics, 28(4), 385–399.
Mura, R.(1993).Images of mathematics held by university teachers of mathematical sciences.Educational Studies in Mathematics, 25(4), 375–385.
National Council of Teachers ofMathematics (NCTM).(1989).Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics.Reston, VA: NCTM.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).(1991).Professional standards for teaching mathematics.Reston, VA: NCTM.
NUD.IST revision 3.0.5.(1995).Qualitative solutions and research.Victoria, Australia: Pty. Ltd.
Rogoff, B.(1990).Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Ross, J., Armstrong, R., Nicol, S. & Theilman, L.(1994).The making of the faculty: Fostering professional development through a collaborative science community (Report No.SE 054585).Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Higher Education.ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED 370812.
Roth McDuffie, A., McGinnis, J.R. & Graeber, A.(2000).Perceptions of reform-style teaching and learning in a college mathematics class.Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 3, 225–250.
Roth, W.-M. & Tobin, K.(1996).Staging Aristotle and natural observation against Galileo and (stacked) scientific experiment or physics lectures as rhetorical events.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(2), 135–157.
Ryan, G.W. & Bernard, H.R.(2000).Data management and analysis methods.In N. Denzin& V.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edn (pp.769–802).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Shulman, L.S.(1987).Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of new reform.Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1–22.
Silverman, D.(2000).Analyzing talk and text.In N. Denzin& V.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edn (pp.821–834).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Straley, T.H. & Woodin, T.(1996).Forward in workshop organizers.In S.B. Millar& B.B. Alexander (Eds.), Teacher preparation in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: Review and analysis of NSF Workshop (6–8 November 1994).Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education.
Tobin, K.(1996).Constraining the learning of science: profiles of power, social forces, and discursive capital.Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, St.Louis, MI.
Tobin, K, Tippins, D.J. & Gallard, A.J.(1994).Research on instructional strategies for teaching science.In D. White (Ed.), Handbook of research on science teaching and learning (pp.45–93).New York: Macmillan.
University of Maryland System.(1993).Special teachers for elementary and middle school science and mathematics: A proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation Teacher Preparation and Enhancement Program.Unpublished manuscript.
Von Glasersfeld, E.(1989).Cognition, construction of knowledge, and teaching.Synthese, 80, 121–140.
Vygotski, L.(1986).Thought and language.Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McGinnis, J.R. College Science, Mathematics, and Methods Teaching Faculty Talk About Science and Mathematics: An Examination of Faculty Discourse in a Reform-Based Teacher Preparation Program. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education 1, 5–38 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026187125767
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026187125767