Planning and teaching mathematics lessons as a dynamic, interactive process

We are researching actions that teachers can take to improve mathematics learning for all students, with particular attention to specific groups of students who might experience difficulty. After identifying possible barriers to learning, we offered teachers mathematics lessons structured in a particular way. Teachers’ use of the model outlined in this paper seemed productive and their resulting planning and teaching proved to be dynamic and interactive. This paper uses excerpts from a conversation between two teachers to illustrate specific aspects of the model.

Developing guidelines for teachers helping students experiencing difficulty in learning mathematics

As part of an ongoing project, we have developed a model of planning and teaching that is designed to assist teachers to help students overcome barriers they might experience in learning mathematics. The following is a discussion of one aspect of the model that we term “enabling prompts”. These refer to the directions, invitations, or questions that a teacher offers when interacting one-on-one with students experiencing difficulties. We argue that teachers should plan to pose subsidiary questions in the first instance, rather than, for example, offering further explanations. We outline our overall planning and teaching model, we present some examples of enabling prompts used by our project teachers, and we propose some considerations for teachers when structuring their own enabling prompts.

Sociocultural research on mathematics education : an international perspective

This volume--the first to bring together research on sociocultural aspects of mathematics education--presents contemporary and international perspectives on social justice and equity issues that impact mathematics education. In particular, it highlights the importance of three interacting and powerful factors--gender, social, and cultural dimensions. Sociocultural Research on Mathematics Education: An International Perspective is distinguished in several ways:

* It is research based. Chapters report on significant research projects; present a comprehensive and critical summary of the research findings; and offer a critical discussion of research methods and theoretical perspectives undertaken in the area.
* It is future oriented, presenting recommendations for practice and policy and identifying areas for further research.
* It deals with all aspects of formal and informal mathematics education and applications and all levels of formal schooling.

As the context of mathematics education rapidly changes-- with an increased demand for mathematically literate citizenship; an increased awareness of issues of equity, inclusivity, and accountability; and increased efforts for globalization of curriculum development and research-- questions are being raised more than ever before about the problems of teaching and learning mathematics from a non-cognitive science perspective. This book contributes significantly to addressing such issues and answering such questions. It is especially relevant for researchers, graduate students, and policymakers in the field of mathematics education.

Mathematics in microworlds: showing the flag!

This article presents an overview of how to use Logo programming to draw national flags. This activity moves away from overt geometry to implicit geometry.

How to review a mathematics textbook

This article provides guidelines for maths primary teachers on how to review a mathematics textbook or curriculum system.