The Mathematical Education of Teachers recommends that the mathematical education of teachers be viewed as the responsibility of both mathematics faculty and mathematics education faculty and further recommends that there be more collaboration between mathematics faculty and K-12 mathematics teachers. This session reviewed one such partnership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that brings together faculty in College of Education and Human Sciences, faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Lincoln Public School elementary teachers.

UNL’s Math Matters is a NSF funded project designed to strengthen the preparation of future elementary school teachers. The centerpiece of the project is an 18-hour block of courses that integrates mathematics instruction with pedagogical instruction and field experiences. Math Matters students take integrated mathematics and methods courses two mornings each week and participate in a field experience two days each week under the supervision of master teachers LINK TO PHYLLIS' Comments at Roper Elementary School, a Lincoln Public School. The project also includes the development of several new math courses<LINK TO A PAGE WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 4 NEW COURSES> , designed especially to be relevant and accessible to future elementary teachers.

In this session, Heaton and Lewis discussed their experiences in building a three-way partnership between education faculty, mathematics faculty and mathematics teachers as well as their efforts to deepen their students' understanding of mathematics by connecting the mathematics to the tasks faced by an elementary school teacher. The session overview that follows contains a description of the context in which this partnership takes place, the goals for Math Matters, and some of the barriers Heaton and Lewis have encountered in creating this partnership. It also includes a close look at what Heaton and Lewis are doing inside the 18-hour block of mathematics, pedagogy, and field experiences to prepare elementary mathematics teachers, along with some beginning evidence of the project’s success. The overview also includes a description of several new math courses for elementary teachers being developed and taught by other faculty from College of Education and Human Sciences and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at UNL working in partnership to improve the mathematical preparation of teachers.