In early November 2013, the authors started talking about visiting the Hurley School, a dual-language school in Boston, Massachusetts. The Hurley School had spent considerable time transitioning to the Common Core State Standards on literacy, but little time addressing the shifts in math. They worried that math classes were no longer rigorous…

There is a growing consensus that teacher evaluation in the United States is fundamentally broken. Few would argue that a system that tells 98 percent of teachers they are "satisfactory" benefits anyone--including teachers. The nation's collective failure to invest in high-quality professional feedback to teachers is inconsistent with…

Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor. Improving the quality of teaching is critical to student success. Yet only recently have many states and districts begun to take seriously the importance of evaluating teacher performance and providing teachers with the feedback they need to…

Describes data analysis activities for grades three to four and five to six based on popular television commercials. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Seventy fifth-grade students in Australia were observed as each solved a jigsaw puzzle. Boys obtained higher scores on a measure of cognitive style and took less time to complete the jigsaw task; the two measures were significantly correlated. Uses of tangrams are also discussed. (MNS)

This study examined the aspirations of the Developing Mathematical Processes (DMP) program and sought to ascertain the extent to which it has been implemented in observed classrooms. DMP was intended to reshape conceptions of mathematical knowledge and school work and to create a pedagogy in which children would be active in creating and testing…

Presents activities focusing on the use of visual perspectivity. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

This report summarizes a five-volume research report on the classroom use and impact of ThinkAbout, an instructional television series designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and study skills. It describes results of a 1979-80 research study which used three…

This publication, the sixth of seven booklets intended for adult education teachers of students with learning disabilities, reviews assessment and remediation considerations in mathematics. Observation of math disabilities is discussed in terms of social and general academic environment, calculation activities, quantitative concepts, and applied…

Discussed are the range and balance of learning activities in the classroom, including discussion of the various roles of the people involved. The analysis is based on records of observations of 174 mathematics lessons with students aged 12-14; microcomputer use was integrated as a teaching aid. (MNS)

This report describes an experiment to provide an inservice program involving problem solving and inquiry, in line with the new Scottish National Guidelines in mathematics, that would have a lasting effect on teachers. The program featured two stages: (1) In the first year teachers were involved in a pair of workshops, were visited at their…

This document is a report of an intensive study of the K-12 mathematics and science programs in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) public schools (n=40) based on classroom observations, interviews, surveys, and focus group discussions. Results showed that students want practical experiences, less teacher talk, and more student talk. Teacher interviews…

This report describes the yearlong case study based on participant observation at a school which used ThinkAbout, a series of 60 15-minute instructional television programs designed to strengthen the reasoning skills of fifth and sixth graders, and to review and reinforce language arts, mathematics, and study skills. Discussion covers the patterns…

Describes several facets of small-group instruction including teacher, group, and individual behaviors and use of time. Observational data were supplemented by teacher interviews concerning student groupings. Grouping practice appeared to result from decisions teachers made primarily on the basis of three factors: the teacher, the students, and…

Discusses the use and adaptation of alternative assessment procedures such as observation, interviewing, holistic scoring, checklists, and reading of student journals, to accurately determine the progress of students with learning difficulties. Includes scoring rubrics and many samples of student evaluation. (MKR)