ABSTRACT
Research on mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) has the goal of trying to find relationships among the mathematics that teachers know, their instruction, and students’ learning. The underlying assumption seems to be that if we find these relationships, and if we then help teachers obtain the appropriate knowledge, they will be positioned to teach better and support better student learning. This conceptualization of research on MKT seems quite plausible—until we ask, “What do we mean that a teacher knows something? How can a teacher knowing something help a student know it, too?” Answers to these questions will reveal the importance of being clear about what we presume we are assessing when we assess teachers’ MKT and about why we even care to assess it.
