Overcoming the gap between university and school mathematics:The impact of an innovative program in mathematics teacher education at the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen
A program for restructuring the entrance phase of the mathematics teacher training program in Giessen has been realized within the last years. The students, who are becoming mathematics teachers, were introduced to a new combination of courses that separated them from those who are aiming for a diploma in mathematics during their first two semesters. The program strongly focused on imparting the mathematical content knowledge in a comprehensible manner, and by this takes into account the transformation of mathematical content in a very sensible way. This chapter deals with the design and the results of an evaluation study about the mathematics teacher education at the Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen (the so-called TEDS-Telekom study). This study analyzes the development of the professional competence of prospective teachers at various universities in the domains of mathematical content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. Comparative results of the prospective teachers of the University of Giessen are described and connected with results of additionally conducted interviews about the influence of institutional conditions on the individual development of professional knowledge. It becomes obvious that the program succeeded to overcome, at least partly, comprehension problems.