Professional Development

Equity in mathematics education should be one of the most important concerns of
teachers, administrators, policy makers, mathematicians, and mathematics educators. In fact, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educator (AMTE), the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics NCTM), three national organizations that support teacher educators, mathematics teachers, and teacher leaders, have made equity a priority for their organizations (Gutierrez et al. 2008). Position statements, standards documents, and various books identify key equity issues and recommend directions compelling all involved in the mathematics education of students to become aware of equity issues and to take steps toward eliminating the inequities that plague K-16 education.

In this paper, we present an overview of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Knowledge for Algebra Teaching for Equity (KATE) Project and experiences from preservice teachers who are preparing for teaching middle grades mathematics. We highlight findings from a preliminary analysis of the effectiveness of virtual simulations of problem-based teaching of algebra concepts in enhancing preservice teachers' knowledge and skill in teaching diverse students.