Teacher preparation programs face increasing demands to demonstrate the competencies of prospective teachers in their programs, while maintaining a focus on developing high-leverage instructional practices in their methods coursework. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine how the implementation of a simulated edTPA elementary mathematics task influenced prospective teachers' experiences in an elementary mathematics methods course. The course curriculum featured cognitively guided instruction (CGI) as the exemplar for understanding and implementing problembased, cognitively oriented pedagogy. Our findings indicate that elements of both CGI and the simulated edTPA mathematics task worked synergistically to enhance opportunities for CGI-type lesson enactment, support productive changes in beliefs, and contribute to the prospective elementary teachers' (PTs) preparation.
Tiffany G. Jacobs, P.O. Box 3978, Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302-3978; tjacobs5@gsu.edu