PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS READING RESEARCH ARTICLES: EXAMINING THE POTENTIALLY EMPOWERING AND DEBILITATING EFFECTS David E. Meel Bowling Green State University Department of Mathematics and Statistics Bowling Green, OH 43403 meel@bgnet.bgsu.edu Abstract The current mathematics education reform efforts regarding teacher preparation empha- size the development of content and pedagogical knowledge. In particular, the adequacy of teachers’ mathematical knowledge receives considerable attention along with the effects of content knowledge on pedagogical practices. This paper illustrates how reading a particular research article designed to draw personal relevance for the investigation into the division of fractions can have both empowering and debilitating effects. The responses of 23 prospective elementary teachers specializing in mathematics portray the variegated efficacy of using the reading of the Borko et al. (1992) article to pique the prospective teachers’ interests and draw relevancy for the content under discussion. Additionally, the study indicates the need for attention to emotional upheavals which result from such an instructional intervention. Teachers’ subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge have received greater attention as some researchers turn their focus from studying elementary school students’ understanding of mathematics content to examining the content and pedagogical knowledge held by inservice and prospective teachers. This research has resulted in an increased awareness that some teachers have difficulty explaining basic concepts to students and these difficulties affect instruction and students’ developing understandings. In particular, Fennema and Franke (1992) found that teacher knowledge influences instruction since classroom discourse partially depends on teacher knowledge. In effect, teacher subject-matter knowledge influences the richness of class discussion and presented material. Pedagogical content knowledge, on the other hand, effects a teacher’s instructional style, selected activities, and student learning (Fennema & Franke, 1992). Pedagogical content knowledge links with subject-matter knowledge to guide the sequence of con- cept presentation and with general pedagogical knowledge to draw on global techniques of teaching (Marks, 1990). Additionally, a teacher’s understanding of the difficulties students encounter during mathematical investigations influences the decisions and the presented classroom learning opportunities (Carpenter, Fennema, Peterson, Chiang & Loef, 1989). These elements affect the choices a teacher makes about what to teach, how to teach it, how to organize the classroom, what techniques to use, how to individualize instruction, and what modifications will be made. All of these decisions are guided by a teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge in concert with subject-matter understandings, perceptions of pedagogical practices, student difficulties, and expected roles of the teacher and student as well as the role of the subject matter. This article focuses on the use of reading research articles to engender changes in prospective teachers subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge regarding situations involving the division of fractions. An extensive body of research has identified that children, adolescents, and