Cross faculty collaboration in the development of an integrated mathematics and science pre-service teacher education program

This paper describes a collaborative project involving mathematicians, scientists and educators at an Australian university where an innovative mathematics/science pre-service teaching degree was developed. The theoretical frameworks of identity theory and academic brokerage and their use in understanding the challenges associated with the early stages of collaborative projects is described. Data from reflections by the participants after involvement in the project for 12 months are presented to illustrate these challenges. The paper concludes with a description of the importance of the academic broker in overcoming identity challenges of academics involved in cross-disciplinary collaborations and the time and resource requirements to achieve a successful outcome.