Mentoring preservice teachers in primary mathematics

A literature-based instrument gathered data about 147 final-year preservice teachers’ perceptions of their mentors’ practices related to primary mathematics teaching. Five factors characterized effective mentoring practices in primary mathematics teaching had acceptable Cronbach alphas, that is, Personal Attributes (mean scale score=3.97, SD [standard deviation]=0.81), System Requirements (mean scale score=2.98, SD=0.96), Pedagogical Knowledge (mean scale score=3.61, SD=0.89), Modelling (mean scale score=4.03, SD=0.73), and Feedback (mean scale score=3.80, SD=0.86) were .91, .74, .94, .89, and .86 respectively. Qualitative data (n=44) investigated mentors’ perceptions of mentoring these preservice teachers, including identification of successful mentoring practices and ways to enhance practices.

A conceptual framework for the cultural integration of cooperative learning : a Thai primary mathematics education perspective

The Thailand education reform adopted cooperative learning to improve the quality of education. However, it has been reported that the introduction and maintenance of cooperative learning has been difficult and uncertain because of the cultural differences. The study proposed a conceptual framework developed based on making a connection between Thai cultures and cooperative learning elements, and implemented a small-scale research project in a Thai primary mathematics class with a teacher and thirty-two Grade 4 students. The results uncovered that the three components including preparation of teachers, instructional strategies and preparation of students can be vehicles for the culture integration in cooperative learning.

100 ideas for teaching primary mathematics.

Es un recurso para los profesores y personal de apoyo que quiere completar y mejorar el programa de estudios de matemáticas de primaria, aunque aquí predominan los conceptos de números. Todas las ideas expuestas se han utilizado con éxito en las clases y las actividades y juegos fomentan la colaboración en parejas o en grupos entre los niños.

Games, ideas and activities for primary mathematics.

Recurso que reúne más de ciento cincuenta ideas para la enseñanza de las matemáticas en la escuela primaria. Proporciona estrategias para apoyar a los docentes en la planificación y la preparación paso a paso de cada actividad. Estas han sido agrupadas por capítulos temáticos y ayudarán a los niños a: utilizar y ampliar su vocabulario matemático; explorar, expresar y debatir ideas matemáticas; pensar y trabajar matemáticamente; mejorar la concentración, la participación activa y el aprendizaje colaborativo. Además su estructura permite que las actividades se adapten a diferentes grupos de edad y de habilidades.

Improving primary mathematics : linking home and school.

En este recurso se presentan nuevas formas de aprendizaje de las matemáticas. Vincula el hogar y la escuela a través de una serie de actividades que se pueden utilizar para compartir conocimientos entre niños, padres y profesores. Los maestros y niños hacer videos para mostrar a los padres cómo los pequeños aprenden matemáticas; los padres y los niños toman fotos de las matemáticas que utilizan de una manera cotidiana. Padres y profesores intercambiar información a través de carpetas, la escuela y los diarios. Se presta especial atención a la forma de trabajar con los padres con distintos orígenes familiares, que refleja la naturaleza multiétnica de muchas escuelas de hoy.

Primary mathematics practice : the Victorian position

In order to establish what constitutes current primary practice in Victoria, video and other data were collected from a stratified random sample of ten year 3 and 4 classrooms in Victoria. Three video vignettes, representing the contrasting pedagogical flows captured on the videotapes, were produced to stimulate discussion in three separate Focus Groups of randomly selected teachers, principals, and mathematics teacher educators and consultants. This paper reports on their views of what constitutes current Victorian practice in primary mathematics

Productive on-line student support : developing a system for primary mathematics trainee teachers

This paper outlines the development project for the 'Productive on-line student support system', a student "self-help" system, at Deakin University. The aim of this project was to provide Deakin primary teacher education students with a web-based learning tool that allowed them to assess and diagnose their strengths and weaknesses in mathematics, and supports students in their mathematics learning, and in so doing produce mathematically competent graduates. This project was, like similar programs, a development of peer or cross-age tutoring common in primary and secondary schools. A grant under the Deakin University Strategic Teaching and Learning Grant Scheme enabled a staff team from the mathematics education group, to develop a sophisticated and well-designed system that catered for a wide range of student needs, provided useful feedback, and was engaging and easy to use. The under-pinning software for the system was WebCT, available to staff through the Deakin Studies On-line system, to which students are connected also. The 'Productive on-line student support system' enabled students to determine their own mathematical needs, and have these addressed whenever they wished, as often as they wished, and allowed self-monitoring of progress. An outline of the system and examples of the assessment materials will be presented.

Implementation of student active learning in primary mathematics in Indonesia

Twenty years after the first pilot projects began to develop Student Active Learning (SAL) in Indonesia, and four years since it was adopted for use in the last provinces, this research investigates the implementation of Student Active Learning in Indonesian primary mathematics classrooms. A study of the relevant literature indicates that teaching based on constructivist principles is unlikely to be implemented well in mathematics classrooms unless there are high quality teachers, readily available manipulative materials, and a supportive learning environment. As Indonesian schools often lack one or more of these aspects, it seemed likely that Student Active Learning principles might not be ‘fully’ implemented in Indonesian primary mathematics classrooms. Thus a smaller scale, parallel study was carried out in Australian schools where there is no policy of Student Active Learning, but where its underlying principles are compatible with the stated views about learning and teaching mathematics. The study employed a qualitative interpretive methodology. Sixteen primary teachers from four urban and four rural Indonesian schools and four teachers from two Victorian schools were observed for four mathematics lessons each. The twenty teachers, as well as fourteen Indonesian headteachers and other education professionals, were interviewed in order to establish links between the background and beliefs of participants, and their implementation of Student Active Learning. Information on perceived constraints on the implementation of SAL was also sought. The results of this study suggest that Student Active learning has been implemented at four levels in Indonesian primary mathematics classrooms, ranging from essentially no implementation to a relatively high level of implementation, with an even higher level of implementation in three of the four Australian classrooms observed. Indonesian teachers, headteachers and supervisors hold a range of views of SAL and also of mathematics learning and teaching. These views largely depended on their in-service training in SAL and, more particularly, on their participation in the PEQIP project Typically, participants’ expressed views of SAL were at the same or higher level as their views of mathematics learning and teaching, with a similar pattern being observed in the relationship between these latter views and their implementation of SAL principles. Three factors were identified as influencing teacher change in terms of implementation of SAL: policy, curricular and organisational, and attitudes. Recommendations arising from this study include the adoption of reflection as an underlying principle in the theory of SAL, the continuation and extension of PEQIP type projects, changes in government policy on curriculum coverage and pre-service teacher training, and more support for teachers at the school and local authority levels.

Students' and teachers' use of ICT in primary mathematics

This paper reports on the findings of a research project that investigated the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Primary mathematics in an urban and rural network. Surveys and semi structured interviews were held to obtain insight into teachers’ and students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the usage of ICT in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The presentation will highlight the findings and include a discussion on the types of ICT that students use in and out of school to learn mathematics.

Questions in primary mathematics classrooms

In this paper the types of questions that primary teachers use when teaching mathematics are discussed. Teachers from five primary schools participated in a professional development program designed to improve the quality of questioning in mathematics classrooms. Changes in their practice as they perceived them are presented.