Chapter 3: What Should we Teach in Elementary Mathematics Methods Courses?: The Argument for Core Pedagogical Content Knowledge in K–5 Mathematics Teacher Preparation

Elementary education teachers graduating without in-depth content knowledge as well as the tools and instructional strategies to teach K–5 mathematics effectively has been discussed as an issue in teacher preparation today (National Research Council, 2003; Ryan & Williams, 2007; Stacey, et al., 2001). Even though many teacher education programs face challenges regarding various aspects of their programs, elementary teacher education presents unique challenges to teacher educators.

Since elementary teachers are tasked with teaching all content, teacher education programs, serving elementary preservice teachers (PTs), must ensure that they are gaining all the knowledge necessary to be successful teachers. This requires teacher educators to carefully select what they teach PTs in their methods courses, often forcing teacher educators to “cut-out” vital aspects of pedagogical content knowledge. This can have detrimental effects on their teacher effectiveness; especially as it relates to mathematics.