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A Learning Community for Pre-Service Elementary Teachers: A Collaboration Between Mathematics and Education

Abstract This article describes a collaboration between two faculty members, one from mathematics and the other from education, to strengthen the preparation of pre-service elementary school teachers for teaching mathematics. The model used is a learning community which combines a mathematics content course offered by the mathematics department, with a mathematics teaching methods course taught by the education department. This article details the design features of the learning community and its rationale and administrative implementation. Course materials and grading policy are discussed, as well as methods of assessment and interpretation of assessment. Of special note, this paper reports the benefits of the learning community as perceived by students and faculty.