This study enquires into the embodied processes of children in solving multiplication tasks, considering how such processes can expand access to spatial reasoning skills and simultaneously develop students' understanding of multiplication. The analysis focused on four Year 2 students as they completed two embodied tasks. The aim was to understand…

This article illustrates and differentiates the unique role cognitive interviews and think-aloud interviews play in developing and validating assessments. Specifically, we describe the use of (a) cognitive interviews to gather empirical evidence to support claims about the intended construct being measured and (b) think-aloud interviews to gather…

Although teachers are expected to teach mathematics ambitiously, it is challenging for them to do so. Given that the first year represents a critical juncture between teacher preparation and inservice teaching, it may be particularly challenging to teach ambitiously. Understanding the nuanced characteristics in lessons taught by first-year…

The present study investigated the usefulness of a pre-programmed, teleoperated, socially assistive peer robot in dynamic testing of complex problem solving utilising the Tower of Hanoi. The robot, in a 'Wizard of Oz' setting, provided instructions and prompts during dynamic testing to children when they had to solve 3 D Tower of Hanoi puzzles.…

Effective feedback is an essential tool for making learning explicit and an essential feature of classroom practice that promotes learner autonomy. Yet, it remains a pressing challenge for teachers to scaffold the active involvement of students as critical, reflective and autonomous learners who use feedback constructively. This paper seeks to…

As children transition from the early to later grades of elementary school, they become increasingly skilled at employing a variety of techniques -- such as rehearsal and organizational strategies -- for remembering information. Developmental changes in strategy use have been well documented, but little is known about the extent to which these…

The current investigation systematically contrasted teaching with cognitively demanding (challenging) tasks using a task-first lesson structure with that of a teach-first lesson structure in a primary school setting (Year 1 and 2). The findings indicate that there is more than one way of incorporating challenge tasks into mathematics lessons to…

The purpose of this study is to impact the teaching and learning of math of 2nd through 4th grade math students at Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School. The Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) model serves as the independent variable for this study. Its intent is to promote math instruction that emphasizes problem-solving to a greater degree…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSI 2010) expect second grade students to "fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies" (2.OA.B.2). Most children begin with number word sequences and counting approximations and then develop greater skill with counting. But do all teachers really understand how this…

A significant number of studies have examined the cognitive components of basic academic skills, which has led to major changes in both teaching and early identification assessment practices. However, the majority of previous research has focused solely on reading. This study examines the cognitive components of academic writing skills across…

This paper investigates the power of the computer guided clinical interview (CI) and new curriculum based measurement (CBM) measures to identify and help children at risk of low mathematics achievement. We use data from large numbers of children in Kindergarten through Grade 3 to investigate the construct validity of CBM risk categories. The basic…

Communications studies and psychology offer analytical and methodological tools that when combined have the potential to bring novel perspectives on human interaction with technologies. In this study of children using simple and complex mathematics applications on tablet computers, cognitive load theory is used to answer the question: how…

This paper illustrates how young children (ages 7-8, grade 2/3) can use the potential of dynamic geometry environments to develop an understanding of, and reasoning about, the properties and behaviours of different triangles (scalene, isosceles, equilateral). It provides a detailed description of a geometry unit, during which children worked both…

The ability to understand and effectively interact with others is a critical determinant of academic, social, and life success (DiPerna & Elliott, 2002). An area in particular need of scalable, feasible, usable, and scientifically sound assessment tools is social-emotional comprehension, which includes mental processes enlisted to encode,…

Early elementary school students are expected to solve twelve distinct types of word problems. A math researcher and two teachers pose a structure for thinking about one problem type that has not been studied as closely as the other eleven. In this article, the authors share some of their discoveries with regard to the variety of…