Leveraging Communities of Practice and Pedagogies of Practice to Prepare Ambitious Teachers

Ambitious teachers view students as sense makers in collaborative learning of disciplinary ideas and value students’ assets as resources for learning. Preparing teachers to enact ambitious instruction requires an approach to professional learning that constructs connections between instructional practice and a vision of principled teaching. This study explored how pedagogies of practice and communities of practice support prospective teachers’ development of a mathematics teaching practice. The study findings suggest pedagogical activities situated within a community of practice may provide opportunities for prospective teachers to build an understanding of the relationship between a core teaching practice and principles of ambitious teaching.