Research Trends in Mathematics Teacher Education ― Research from the 2012 Pme-na Annual Conference

This book uses expanded papers from the 2012 PME-NA Conference to convey important findings and illustrations of the breadth of work in the areas of mathematical knowledge for teaching, teacher characteristics that affect their instruction, and tools that support teacher development. In addition, commentaries on each section set the context for research in the area, pull together the ideas in the section, identify important issues raised by the chapters, and provide insight into what remains to be researched in that area. This book pulls together important ideas and puts them in a broader perspective. It is an important resource for graduate studies in mathematics teacher education and a useful information source for policy makers and professional development providers.

Dr. Keith Leatham is Associate Professor of mathematics education at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. His research focuses on understanding how preservice teachers learn to facilitate student mathematics learning. He has published in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, Teaching Children Mathematics, and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. He served as the associate editor for Journal for Research in Mathematics Education in 2004-2008.

Dr. Jane-Jane Lo is Associate Professor of mathematics education at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has a long-term research interest in studying the process of mathematical learning and concept development. She has published in both research and practitioner journals, including the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Teaching Children Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, and Mathematics Teacher. She and Laura Van Zoest and James Kratky co-edited the 2012 PME-NA conference proceedings.

Dr. Laura R. Van Zoest earned a PhD in Mathematics Education from Illinois State University, and joined the mathematics department at Western Michigan University as a mathematics educator in 1994. She was promoted to full professor in 2005 and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge, England (2001-02) and the University of Michigan (2011-12). Dr. Van Zoest has published in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, Teacher and Teacher Education, Mathematics Teacher Educator and the Mathematics Teacher. She was editor of Teachers Engaged in Research: Inquiry into Mathematics Practice, 9-12, and guest co-editor of the ZDM: The International Journal on Mathematics Education focus issue Theoretical frameworks in research on and with mathematics teachers.