Early Math Resources for Teacher Educators

Improving early math learning requires teachers to know the content, understand children’s thinking, engage in pedagogical practices that support learning, and see themselves as capable math teachers. Currently, most preservice teachers do not have access to robust course offerings in early childhood math and there are few faculty members at the college level who have sufficient expertise in early math teaching and learning to teach the needed courses. Inservice professional development opportunities are also few and far between, in part because not enough experts in early math teaching are available to teach them.

To support the training of prospective and practicing early childhood teachers, the TE project is creating a set of professional development modules that can be used in a variety of settings (e.g., live or online college courses, continuing education institutes, and ongoing in-service workshops). Some modules will be organized around mathematical content; others will be organized around teaching practices and mathematical activities for students. Each module will address the integration of mathematical content, teacher practice, pedagogical approaches to support teacher learning, and resources to support that learning.