″Numbers Always Make Sense″: Janie′s Experience of Learning to Teach Elementary Mathematics

In order to provide pre-service teachers with rich contexts for learning to teach mathematics, teacher education programs usually combine a mathematics methods course with clinical teaching experiences. This paper explores a student-teacher's experience of loaming to teach mathematics by observing one mathematics methods course she was enrolled in and her actual classroom teaching. In particular, this ethnographic case study examines how the student-teacher understands and applies messages from the methods course to her teaching practices. Some differences emerge with regard to ideas and practices. The underlying factors for explaining the gaps are discussed. Finally, this paper provides some implications for pre-service teacher education.