Toward a methodology for exploring Mathematics preservice teachers' learning from a sociocultural perspective. 'Hacia una metodología para explorar el aprendizaje de futuros profesores de Matemáticas desde una perspectiva sociocultural'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

A sociocultural framework for understanding technology integration in Secondary School mathematics. 'Un marco sociocultural para comprender la integración de la tecnología en las matemáticas escolares de Secundaria'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Mathematics, computers in Mathematics, and gender : public perceptions in context. 'Matemáticas, ordenadores en Matemáticas y género : percepciones públicas en contexto'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Contribution of the research component in internship reports to the development of didactic knowledge of mathematics

Monogr??fico con el t??tulo: " Formaci??n de profesores. Perspectivas de Brasil, Colombia, Espa??a y Portugal"

Pursuing excellence : a study of U.S. eighth-grade mathematics and science teaching, learning, curriculum, and achievement in international context /

Mode of access: Internet.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Mathematics Language and Reflection in the Context of an Early Childhood Mathematics Methods Course

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

A Didactic Model of Computer Supported Education in Higher Mathematics

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2016

A comparison of content-based and context-based teaching on ninth-grade mathematics achievement

The purpose of this study was to determine if an experimental context-based delivery format for mathematics would be more effective than a traditional model for increasing the performance in mathematics of at-risk students in a public high school of choice, as evidenced by significant gains in achievement on the standards-based Mathematics subtest of the FCAT and final academic grades in Algebra I. The guiding rationale for this approach is captured in the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report of 1992 that resulted in school-to-work initiatives (United States Department of Labor). Also, the charge for educational reform has been codified at the state level as Educational Accountability Act of 1971 (Florida Statutes, 1995) and at the national level as embodied in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A particular focus of educational reform is low performing, at-risk students. ^ This dissertation explored the effects of a context-based curricular reform designed to enhance the content of Algebra I content utilizing a research design consisting of two delivery models: a traditional content-based course; and, a thematically structured, content-based course. In this case, the thematic element was business education as there are many advocates in career education who assert that this format engages students who are often otherwise disinterested in mathematics in a relevant, SCANS skills setting. The subjects in each supplementary course were ninth grade students who were both low performers in eighth grade mathematics and who had not passed the eighth grade administration of the standards-based FCAT Mathematics subtest. The sample size was limited to two groups of 25 students and two teachers. The site for this study was a public charter school. Student-generated performance data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. ^ Results indicated that contrary to the beliefs held by many, contextual presentation of content did not cause significant gains in either academic performance or test performance for those in the experimental treatment group. Further, results indicated that there was no meaningful difference in performance between the two groups. ^

Development of a Game-Based Mathematics Curriculum for Preschool

America’s deficiency in mathematics can be benefitted by an emphasis in mathematics from an early age. An effective math curriculum for preschool should consist of the most important aspects of early childhood mathematics, including number writing and identification, one-to-one correspondence, cardinality, number comparison, ordinality, number sequence, and number bonds.

THE EFFECT OF PURPOSEFUL MATHEMATICS DISCOURSE IN THE CLASSROOM ON STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICS LANGUAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF PROBLEM SOLVING

This study examines how one secondary school teacher’s use of purposeful oral mathematics language impacted her students’ language use and overall communication in written solutions while working with word problems in a grade nine academic mathematics class. Mathematics is often described as a distinct language. As with all languages, students must develop a sense for oral language before developing social practices such as listening, respecting others ideas, and writing. Effective writing is often seen by students that have strong oral language skills. Classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and collected student work served as evidence to demonstrate the nature of both the teacher’s and the students’ use of oral mathematical language in the classroom, as well as the effect the discourse and language use had on students’ individual written solutions while working on word problems. Inductive coding for themes revealed that the teacher’s purposeful use of oral mathematical language had a positive impact on students’ written solutions. The teacher’s development of a mathematical discourse community created a space for the students to explore mathematical language and concepts that facilitated a deeper level of conceptual understanding of the learned material. The teacher’s oral language appeared to transfer into students written work albeit not with the same complexity of use of the teacher’s oral expression of the mathematical register. Students that learn mathematical language and concepts better appear to have a growth mindset, feel they have ownership over their learning, use reorganizational strategies, and help develop a discourse community.

Humor in mathematics teaching

HUMOR: OUR VIEW FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHING Our assumptions and context. Process humor and be able to produce is clearly a sign of intelligence, revealing, when done well, complex reasoning. Humor has an important social role, assuming as a cognitive experience that as well as creating a sense of well-being, predisposes people to work and can improve the productivity of that work. Mathematics is a discipline in which the reasoning occupies a very prominent place, both as a science as a school area. At the same time, students' interest for mathematics is not always the same and some have initially not very favorable feelings (Toh, 2009; Wanzer, Frymier & Irwin, 2010). Recent curriculum changes to the teaching of mathematics have been, in most countries of the world, showing the need for students to develop skills of critical nature, such as communication, thinking and problem solving along with the acquisition of mathematical knowledge. Also in Portugal, it is claimed the importance of promoting learning that combine the construction of mathematical knowledge with its use, when performing mathematical tasks and communicating mathematical ideas and mathematical reasoning. In the early years of schooling, corresponding to primary education in many countries, the use of texts such as short stories or comics, from which we can develop challenging mathematical tasks, is reported in the literature as having potential to promote learning specified in curricular documents (Wanzer, Frymier., & Irwin, 2010). In particular, some texts focus on mathematical topics in a humorous way and to be understood, students must develop their mathematical competence. The development of mathematical tasks from stories and other humorous presents big challenges to teachers (Flores & Moreno, 2011). Our questions. In this context, we put some questions: Primary teachers use in their classes tasks or situations that present, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas? What resources do they use? Also: How to select, adapt or build texts and tasks which have, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas with didactic potential for education in the early years of schooling? If the resources for this purpose have been produced and if teachers have been sensitized for their use, are they able to integrate them in their classes? Our intentions. This research project seeks to address these questions, focused on: (i ) assessment of teachers’ practices and underlying knowledge, resources available for the use of texts with mathematical ideas presented in a humorous way; (ii) selection, adaptation and construction of mathematical tasks from texts that present, in a humorous way, mathematical ideas with didactic potential in education for the early years of schooling; and ( iii ) integration and use, by primary school teachers, of texts that present , in a humorous way, contexts for the teaching of mathematics. So, the project is organized into three tasks and as a methodological design that combines qualitative elements with quantitative elements, the first one prevailing.

Developing multiple - choice questions in mathematics

In this paper we wish to illustrate different perspectives used to create Multiple-Choice questions and we will show how we can improve these in the construction of math tests. As it is known, web technologies have a great influence on student’s behaviour. Based on an on-line project beginning at 2007 which has been contributing to help students on their individual work, we would like to share our experience and thoughts with colleagues who have a common concern when they have the task of constructing Multiple-Choice tests. We feel that Multiple-Choice tests play an important and a very useful supporting role in selfevaluation or self-examination of our students. Nonetheless, good Multiple–Choice Test Items are generally more complex and time-consuming to create than other types of tests. It requires a certain amount of skill. However, this skill maybe increases through study, practice and experience. This paper discusses a number of issues related to the use of Multiple-Choice questions, lists the advantages and disadvantages of this question format contrasting it with open questions. Some examples are given in this context.

Changing representations and practices in school mathematics: the case of Modern Math in Portugal

The curricular movement known as Modern Mathematics aimed at the transformation of representations and practices in school mathematics. Its study provides us with ways of understanding how these changes came about. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the ways in which representations of school mathematics gradually were influenced by ideas from the Modern Mathematics movement, how these new ideas merged into local educational traditions, and how they were transformed into meaningful practice. This work is centred on the Portuguese context from the middle 1950s to the middle 1960s, and builds on Chervel’s notion of school culture and Gruzinski’s discussion of connected histories.