An exploration of the gap between theory and practice in online field experience in mathematics teaching

Past research has growingly shown importance of teacher candidates’ ability to connect theory and practice for applying what they have acquired in coursework into practice. This study examined 23 mathematics teacher candidates’ (TCs) ability to link coursework and online mathematics teaching field experiences in a mathematics teacher education program. Data included transcripts of 24 videotaped lesson plan meetings before the TCs’ online teaching for one semester and transcripts of 9 videotaped whole group discussions after the TCs’ online teaching in the Online Laboratory School. Data also included TCs’ short reflections written immediately after online teaching based on interesting and significant moments in their teaching. The results indicated that TCs often struggled to make connections between theory and practice, suggesting the need for teacher educators to offer more coursework integration opportunities in their assignments of mathematics teaching field experiences. This study, utilizing multiple data sources such as instructors’ goals, TCs’ reflections, lesson plans, and whole-group meetings, provides valuable qualitative evidence that may help bridge the existing gap in this area of educational research.