Initiating a conversation about expertise in designing elementary mathematics methods courses for equity

Many elementary education programs have only one mathematics methods course designed for preservice teachers (PTs). Such courses typically cover a range of content and present a challenge for mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who strive to prepare their PTs to teach mathematics in equitable and humane ways. Due to the “stand-alone” nature of these semester-long courses, additional expertise is required for MTEs who desire to intentionally and authentically attend to equity and support PTs in developing pedagogy that aims for equity as outlined by (Gutiérrez, in: Herbel-Eisenmann, Choppin, Wagner, Pimm (eds) Equity in discourse for mathematics education, Springer, Berlin, 2012). In this paper, we take a first step at outlining this expertise by proffering a framework for conceptualizing MTE curricular knowledge for designing mathematics methods courses for equity. Using 12 syllabi for stand-alone elementary mathematics methods courses in initial teacher licensure programs from MTEs who have demonstrated expertise in the field of equitable mathematics teaching (MTE-EEs), we examined how aspects of their curricular expertise were evidenced in course descriptions, goals, objectives, assignments, topics, and related readings. Findings indicated that MTE-EEs often included similar design features in their courses and concentrated their attention to equity on access and identity. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.