These educators share the "how" and "why" behind their use of open middle tasks in the classroom. In this article, the authors share a type of mathematics task, called Open Middle, that exhibits the characteristics outlined above. The authors frequently use Open Middle tasks in their classrooms because they teach students that…

Now in its sixth year of implementation, the TECHFIT approach involves having individuals and teams of middle school teachers successfully complete a week-long, professional development (PD) workshop through which they acquire the essential skills that contribute to the task of innovating an exergame. An exergame is a technology-supported fitness…

Learning to respond to a computer program that is not working as intended is often characterized as finding a singular bug causing a singular problem. This framing underemphasizes the wide range of ways that students and teachers could notice discrepancies from their intention, propose causes of those discrepancies, and implement interventions.…

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how students' mathematics identities were developed and how their agency was fostered through the use of a mathematical action technology (MAT), Desmo, during stages of learning beyond noticing and wondering. The authors describe how they enacted an eighth-grade mathematics lesson depicting students…

As students enter middle school, they face increased writing expectations. Middle school teachers expect students to write lengthier compositions across genres that are more technically correct and thoughtfully written than those required in elementary school. Some students will meet the increased expectations, while others will not. Most students…

This paper discusses two "GeoGebra" applets, "Radical" and "Parabola," that are designed to strengthen the conceptual understanding of specific topics in algebra. The design and pedagogical basis of the applets are presented. The integration of the applets in teaching Grade 9 mathematics in a partner high school in…

Classrooms are operating differently during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in lab-based courses. Virtual classrooms utilizing Zoom, Google Meet, or other conferencing software can create challenges for hands-on, lab-based classes. These virtual methods also pose problems for pre-service teacher education students attempting to gain much needed…

To improve understanding of identities and inverses, and to provide a stronger foundation for future mathematics, Sandra Miles designed a two-part lesson that makes the relationship between identities and inverses explicit. This article illustrates Miles' teaching of the first part of the lesson, focused on addition and subtraction, and then gives…

In this paper, we describe the design, development, and implementation of a curriculum based on teaching computer science using an industry-standard game-design software: Unity 3D. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of our instructional design process and steps we have taken to introduce complexity and maintain student motivation. We discuss…

We present a drawing discovery lab that crosscuts multiple disciplines in biology and links concepts in genetics and evolutionary thinking to enhance understanding of the genotype-to-phenotype transformation. These combined concepts are also linked to ecological frameworks in nature through the model of biological plasticity. Students and teachers…

In the wake of all that educators are navigating these days, they've proven to be not only resilient, but also innovative. They continue intentionally finding new and exciting ways to create powerful learning opportunities for all students. Reinvent the Classroom, an initiative by Digital Promise, HP, Microsoft, and Intel, supports, celebrates,…

Nowadays, Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the emerging technologies with a greater impact in the Education field. Research has proved that AR-based activities improve the teaching and learning processes. Also, the use of this type of technology in classroom facilitates the understanding of contents from different areas as Arts, Mathematics or…

Advancement of self-regulation during complex problem solving and the development of strategical reasoning are among the central educational goals linked to 21st century skills. In this paper we introduce the notion of "Stepped Tasks", which are specially designed in Top-Down structure to achieve these goals in mathematics instruction.…

Instead of having their students' first experience with biology that did not address issues of racism in science, Kelsie Fowler and Saraswati Noel created a unit drew on storytelling and artistic expression which is rare in science education, where these modes helped them center what really mattered to them--their Black students' personal…

In this article, the authors present the use of digital tape diagrams--implemented using GeoGebra (2001) dynamic mathematics software--as a support to static diagrams to pose and solve proportional reasoning tasks. They show how dynamic sketches can allow students to explore standard tasks in proportional reasoning in ways that emphasise…