Who Can Teach the Mathematically Gifted? Characterizing and Preparing Mathematics Teachers of Highly Able Students at the Secondary Level

Abstract

Teaching mathematically gifted students is a challenging pursuit, especially at the secondary level. However, characterizing teachers who can successfully meet this challenge has so far been scarcely addressed directly. In this paper, elements of the desired profile of such teachers are extracted from the general literature on mathematical giftedness. The difficulty to recruit and train teachers to satisfy this profile, resulting from the reality of severe shortages of mathematics teachers in many countries, is described. Findings are presented from a study on a unique 2-year training course for teachers of mathematically gifted and advanced students, including analyses of the prerequisites of the course, the syllabus and the profile of graduates. The findings point to a problem where compromises in entry requirements, made in light of shortage in suitable candidates, may limit the number of successful graduates even in comprehensive and carefully designed programs. Implications of these results for decision makers are discussed.

Keywords:

• Mathematically gifted students
• Teacher preparation in gifted education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ronnie Karsenty

Ronnie Karsenty received a Ph.D. in mathematics education at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. In 2004, she joined the Davidson Institute of Science Education, where she participated in projects for in-service teachers of students from both ends of the mathematics learning spectrum (low achievers and mathematically gifted and talented students). She founded the SHLAV project for advancing secondary school low achievers in mathematics, and was head of the project for 8 years. In addition, she lectured in several Israeli teacher education programs. In 2012, she joined the Science Teaching Department of the Weizmann Institute, as an Associate Scientist and lecturer. She is currently co-head of the VIDEO-LM project concerning mathematics teacher professional development through the use of videotaped lessons. Her fields of interest include reasoning processes of secondary mathematics students, alternative approaches for teaching mathematics in low-track settings, professional development of mathematics teachers, and classroom assessment of high school mathematics.