To allow prospective teachers to see mathematics as a useful tool to make sense of the world we redesigned a university mathematics content course for prospective elementary school teachers in the context of exploring income distribution in the United States. This allowed the prospective teachers to learn mathematics in a meaningful context and…

This case study of a third grade classroom details the ways that competence was jointly constructed by students and the teacher in relation to students' efforts to engage with each other's mathematical ideas. By creating consistent opportunities for students to share and make sense of others' ideas, and by supporting students to take up these…