Critical thinking is the essential tool for ensuring that students fulfill their promise. But, in reality, critical thinking is still a luxury good, and students with the greatest potential are too often challenged the least. "Thinking Like a Lawyer": (1) Introduces a powerful but practical framework to close the critical thinking gap;…

A steady stream of research has shown that many elementary school teachers have weak mathematical knowledge in some areas, including place value and fractions. Since a teacher's mathematical knowledge affects their students' performance, improving elementary school teachers' knowledge is critical. A better understanding of the mathematical…

Every day students from across the United States enter their math classrooms, take their seats, sit passively as their teachers teach the content, and then go home only marginally prepared to solve the problems their teachers assigned. Although the challenges of teaching are universal and as old as Methuselah, the advantage today is that educators…

This study investigated mathematics teachers' professional knowledge among elementary school teachers exposed to a professional training program that either supported self-regulated learning (SRL) or offered no SRL support (no-SRL). The SRL support was based on the IMPROVE metacognitive self-questioning method that directs students' attention to…

Recognizing and responding to students' thinking is essential in teaching mathematics, especially when students provide incorrect solutions. This study examined, through a teaching scenario task, elementary preservice teachers' interpretations of and responses to a student's work on a task involving reflective symmetry. Findings revealed that a…

This article describes the goals of a capstone course for secondary preservice mathematics teachers and how those goals are achieved. Moreover, student reaction to the course will be examined.

The teaching of science, especially at pre-college and teacher education levels has undergone tremendous transformation over the years: from teacher-centred transmission to student-centred approaches rooted in constructivism. Whereas constructivism has been charged with all manner of shortfalls, it still can be of benefit to the way physics…

There has been a dearth of studies on teacher educators using action research to improve their own practice. This book is the first systematic study of a group of teachers examining and enhancing their own practice through the inquiry process of action research. This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to…

As part of an on-going project designed to impact teacher quality at the pre-service, induction, and professional development levels, this paper summarizes the parametric results of a series of four different workshops conducted in the summer of 2007. In an effort to glean a better understanding of their knowledge, attitudinal, perceptual, and…

Sixty-five fourth-grade, fifth-grade and sixth-grade teachers in the Midwestern United States participated in professional development opportunities designed to increase their mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge over a two-year series of workshops. Through the use of pre-tests and post-tests assessing content knowledge and…

This study explores the mathematical problem-solving process of trainee teachers in a teachers' training institute. This research adopts a constructivist perspective that views learning mathematics as a process of constructing meaningful representation and knowledge as being constructed by the individual. The research methodology employs the case…

This article discusses the algorithm for multiplication that is referred to as lattice multiplication. Evidence of how the author's preservice students' conceptual understanding of the algorithm grew through the semester is given. In addition, the author extends the conceptualization of the algorithm from the multiplication of whole numbers to the…

This paper describes a content upgrading course on Secondary School Algebra which was planned and conducted for in-service mathematics teachers who are trained to teach mathematics at lower secondary level (ages 13 to 14). In order to be an effective mathematics teacher, one needs to know a great deal of mathematical knowledge on top of good…

With the introduction of the latest national curriculum, using and applying mathematics retained its attainment target within the level descriptions, but the programme of study was integrated into the programmes of study for curriculum content (number, shape, space, and measures). This brought it in line with the national numeracy strategy, which…

Shares experiences and growth in a teacher's knowledge about learning while teaching mathematics. (ASK)