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Teacher Beliefs, Mathematics

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Encyclopedia of Teacher Education

Introduction

Mathematics teachers hold many beliefs, including beliefs about the nature of mathematics, about what it means for students to know and learn mathematics, and about the teaching of mathematics. Teachers’ beliefs influence how they teach mathematics, which in turn influences students’ opportunities to learn mathematics. For many teachers, teaching mathematics in new and innovative ways requires re-examining and changing their beliefs, abandoning unproductive beliefs, and working to develop new, more productive beliefs. Thus, understanding, studying, and working to shape teachers’ beliefs are important. To change their beliefs, teachers need multiple opportunities to examine and reconsider their beliefs, to learn and try new approaches to teaching mathematics, and then to reflect on their experiences doing so.

This entry is guided by a model for teacher professional learning (Cai et al. 2019) (see Fig. 1.). Opportunities for teacher learning aim to increase teachers’...

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Correspondence to Jinfa Cai .

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© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Berk, D., Cai, J. (2019). Teacher Beliefs, Mathematics. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_236-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_236-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1179-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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