Longitudinal Studies of Teacher Development in Elementary Mathematics and Science

Learn about the work and findings of two longitudinal studies examining the development of knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices among pre-service and early-career elementary teachers in mathematics and science.

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Over the past five years, research teams at Western Washington University and North Carolina State University have each conducted longitudinal studies to examine elementary teacher development in mathematics and science. Specifically, they have investigated the development of pre-service/novice teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices during teacher preparation and into their initial years of teaching. 

During this session, participants will learn about and discuss each project’s research design, methodologies, key findings, and elements of teacher preparation that seem to be particularly instrumental in development. Participants will also learn about project-developed data collection instruments and frameworks for analyses. Together, presenters and participants will engage in broader discussion about approaches to preparing elementary mathematics and science teachers, as well as strategies for evaluating the impacts of teacher preparation, examining questions such as:

  • How do we best support the development of elementary teachers in mathematics and science during the pre-service years?
  • What are effective strategies for evaluating the impact of teacher preparation programs? 
  • As a field of teacher education, how do we leverage findings from these and other evaluation studies to impact the decisions of policymakers?
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