Math and Science Teacher Perceptions and Practice: Leveraging Student Uncertainty as a Pedagogical Tool

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Description
Uncertainties are inherent in education as learners encounter gaps in their awareness of topics, receive new information that potentially conflicts with prior understandings, and grapple with known unknowns in order to construct new knowledge. While researchers have shown that students

Uncertainties are inherent in education as learners encounter gaps in their awareness of topics, receive new information that potentially conflicts with prior understandings, and grapple with known unknowns in order to construct new knowledge. While researchers have shown that students productively struggling with problematized and uncertain elements within math and science contexts can lead to greater conceptual awareness, literature is scarce regarding how teachers intentionally use student uncertainty to facilitate learning, let alone how their own perceptions of uncertainty impacts their practice. However, being aware of one’s own uncertainties as well as the productive potential of using student uncertainty as a pedagogical tool can help to enhance instructional practice and initiate change. To that end, I aim to identify strategies and resources to support math and science teachers enhance their awareness of the productive potential uncertainty can have in their instruction. In Chapter One of this dissertation, I introduce the background and purpose of this line of inquiry before presenting three independent, but interconnected, manuscripts. In Chapter Two, I report findings from a qualitative study exploring pre-service math teachers’ sources and perceptions of uncertainty after engaging in a course that intentionally introduced personal, pedagogical, and mathematical uncertainties. In Chapter Three, I describe the findings from a qualitative study that identified changes in middle school science teachers’ perceptions and practice of using student uncertainty as a pedagogical resource, specifically after engaging in a practice-based professional development designed to elicit and reflect on scientific uncertainty. Then, expanding on the findings presented in the two previous chapters, I propose resources in Chapter Four intended to enhance math teachers’ awareness and ability to embed mathematical uncertainty into problematized instruction. Finally, in Chapter Five, I conclude the dissertation connecting the three manuscripts, integrating the findings, and summarizing future implications.
Date Created
2024
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