Narrowing the Gap: The Mediated Field Experience as a Pedagogy to Identify and Build Coherence Between Mathematics Methods Coursework and Field Experience

Abstract

Preservice teachers (PSTs) in teacher education programs frequently experience a disconnect between coursework and fieldwork, often referred to as the theory-practice gap. This study considered the mediated field experience (MFE) as a pedagogy that may help to bridge this divide in mathematics education by encouraging the creation of a hybrid space in which PSTs, cooperating teachers, and teacher educators collaborate to strategically build coherence between knowledge gained from coursework and knowledge acquired from authentic field experiences. PSTs’ reflections, both in the context of a chronological progression over the course of multiple cycles of MFEs as well as corresponding to the various elements of the MFE, were explored to provide a deeper understanding of the effect of MFEs on PSTs. This study addressed the following research questions: 1. How, if at all, does the focus of PSTs’ reflections evolve over the course of their participation in multiple cycles of MFEs? 2. How, if at all, does the content of PSTs’ reflections differ amongst each individual element of the MFE? 3. As PSTs participate in multiple cycles of MFEs, how do characteristics of coherence between theoretical concepts and authentic classroom experiences reveal instances of PST entry into hybrid space? This qualitative case study analyzed the written and oral reflections of two PSTs who participated in six cycles of MFEs over the course of nine weeks while enrolled in a mathematics methods course. These reflections were considered both as they relate to the MFEs as a whole and as they relate to each individual element of the MFE. The construct of two Mathematics Teaching Practices (NCTM, 2014) provided a structure for analysis. The study employed an analytical framework building upon Wood and Turner’s (2015) application of Lampert’s (2001) three-pronged model of teaching practice, in the context of a mathematics methods course in a teacher education program. The findings of this study revealed that PST reflections evolved over the course of the PSTs’ participation in multiple cycles of MFEs, shifting from a focus on the teacher and the content of their college coursework toward an intensified focus on the students and the mathematical content. Findings also showed that the content of PSTs’ reflections differed amongst the various elements of the MFE. Finally, the findings of this study identified and described instances of PST entry into hybrid space in terms of characteristics of coherence between PST engagement in both the theoretical principles learned through coursework and the authentic classroom setting, as identified through PST reflections. The results of this study indicate that the PSTs did, in fact, enter into hybrid space at various points, simultaneously engaging in both the theoretical principles learned through coursework and the realities of the actual classroom setting. The hybrid space, which is hypothesized as the “place” wherein coherence resides, consequently had the potential to diminish the theory-practice gap.