Spatial abilities--required in both academic and everyday information processing--are recommended as an important target for explicit instruction in the K-12 curriculum. However, most school curricula do not address this spatial issue, probably because spatial ability is a general rather than domain-specific skill and also due to debate regarding…

The last two years of primary school in Trinidad and Tobago are marked by preparation for national standardized tests. The focus on preparing for these tests impacts teaching and learning strategies, as there is a shift to teacher centered classrooms and teaching strategies that depend on rote learning and memorization. This study explored how…

The aim of the study reported in this paper was to explore and enhance experienced school mathematics teachers' knowledge of students'thinking, as it is manifested in practice. Data were collected from records of classroom observations, interviews with participating teachers, and weekly teacher-researcher meetings organized in the school. In this…

Many teachers experience the tension between using published curriculum materials and teaching in ways that are responsive to children. Teachers are often expected to use a particular mathematics curriculum series, but they still want to be able to build on and connect to children's multiple mathematical knowledge bases (MMKB).…

This paper aims to critique and develop neo-Vygotskian work in mathematics education from (i) within the Vygotskian and activity theoretic tradition, and where necessary from (ii) a Bourdieusian perspective. First, I critique Roth and Radford's (2011) version of Cultural-historical Activity Theory, suggesting that a classroom episode presented as…

Teachers need practices that can be implemented in the classroom to teach children how to address conflict and solve problems proactively. There are curricula available for teachers to use in promoting improvement in the social behavior of students and for further enhancing their ability to self-regulate their behavior (Smith, Lochman, &…

This case study consisted of an examination of the perspectives of students, teachers, and administrators at the Shuangling Primary School, a rural Chinese school in Shaanxi Province, as they relate to themes of China's most recent curricular reform efforts. The intent was to understand these perspectives and determine how to best assist teachers…