This study started by looking at key characteristics and traits of highly-qualified math teachers. The researcher wanted to determine the most important skills a preservice teacher needs to exhibit in a mathematics classroom and identify what a school principal is looking for when hiring a mathematics teacher. For this study, a preservice teacher is a student in their senior year at the university and enrolled in a higher education institute to become a professional teacher. There are expectations that an accredited teacher education program will prepare preservice teachers to work with students to achieve academic success in all content areas. The researcher will discuss the standards of practice for teaching in a mathematics classroom. Interviewing school principals and surveying university methods professors will accomplish this. The research questions used to guide this study were:

i. What does a university math methods course in a teacher preparation program do to prepare preservice teachers with strategies to enhance their mathematical pedagogy and teaching practices?
ii. What characteristics and traits do preservice teachers need to demonstrate in a mathematics classroom?
iii. What are the crucial factors that a principal is looking for when hiring a math teacher?

Author: Laurie James

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2023

• Date of Conference: 26-28 June, 2023
• DOI: 10.20533/CICE.2023.0019
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-58-7
• Conference Location: Residence and Conference Centre, Toronto, Canada