Influence of a non-traditional mathematics content course on preservice teachers' beliefs

A continued and ongoing call for improvement and change in mathematics teaching and learning suggests a need for re-visioning the ways in which mathematics teachers are educated. Suggestions include incorporating reform teaching in university courses that integrate mathematics content with pedagogy and perturbate mathematical beliefs. The context of this study was a group of preservice teachers in a mathematics content course that incorporated meaning-making, dialogue, space and justification into classroom learning experiences. Further, the usual power dynamics between teacher and student were revisited and revised as part of the social norms established in the classroom. Due to the learning experiences in this non-traditional course, students reported plans for their future pedagogical practices as being conceptually oriented, gaining mathematical empowerment, a change in beliefs about the nature of mathematics, a new appreciation for mathematics in general, and enjoyment of group work, presentations, and the use of manipulatives (term used for the use of physical models).