Abstract:

Teaching is the most noble profession. This paper will bring attention to high impact transformative learning practices that are embedded within a teacher preparation program at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma (USA) to ignite passion and preparedness for teaching mathematics across all grade levels. Building on the work of George D. Kuh et.al. (2008, 2013, 2015) who describe high impact educational practices, what they are, who has access to them and why they matter, these practices have been incorporated into a weekly, authentic teaching opportunity wherein teacher candidates provide individualized assessment and deliver high quality mathematics teaching to early education, elementary education, middle school, or high school students from our community who struggle with mathematics.

Some of these practices include:
- Performance expectations set at appropriately high levels
- Significant investment of concentrated effort by students over an extended period of time
- Interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters
- Experiences with diversity, wherein students are exposed to and must contend with people and circumstances that differ from those with which students are familiar
- Frequent, timely and constructive feedback
- Opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real world applications
- Public demonstration of competence
- Periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning.

Early evidence indicates that these high impact practices, implemented through a unique and authentic teaching experience as part of a university mathematics center, contribute to teacher candidates’ transformative growth and development and their sense of enhanced level of preparedness for their future teaching career.

Keywords:

Pre-service Teacher Experiences, High Impact Practices, Transformative Learning, Authentic Teaching Experiences, Undergraduate Teacher Preparation, Mathematics Education, Teacher Candidate.