The revised Australian curriculum presents a new emphasis in primary schools on the process of Mathematical Modelling. A modelling focus brings close attention to confidence and capability with a potentially new problem-solving process, associated language, and pedagogical processes. This paper presents a Year 4 classroom modelling experience that…

Mathematical thinking is a complex, multi-faceted process that has been described as messy and difficult but can also show growth and insights into conceptual understanding and knowing. This paper explores the application of Edward de Bono's practical thinking, in particular, the occurrence of porridge words to examine the mathematical thinking of…

This study reports on the capabilities of 53 Year 4 students as they completed the final stages of their first complete statistical investigation. In the context of becoming acquainted with students in a sister school in another city, students in both schools wrote and refined questions, which were answered by all students in an on-line survey.…

Research that has explored students' interpretations of graphical representations has not extended to include how students apply understanding of particular statistical concepts related to one graphical representation to interpret different representations. This paper reports on the way in which students' understanding of covariation, evidenced…

This paper explores the group dynamics among three groups of students involved in collaborative learning in mathematical modelling activities. It reports how group dynamics were established and their influence on the students' mathematical problem-solving endeavours. Through video analyses, discourse structures were identified to suggest the…

This paper focuses on children's number fact knowledge from a study that explored the impact of using multiplication and division contexts for developing number understanding with 34 five- and six-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After a series of focused lessons, children's knowledge of number facts, including…

With the advancement of new technologies, this author has in 2010 started to engineer an online learning environment for investigating the nature and development of spatial abilities, and the teaching and learning of geometry. This paper documents how this new digital learning environment can afford the opportunity to integrate the learning about…

What would the curriculum look like if it were developed from the perspective of measuring? Without formal tools, the Yup'ik Eskimos of Alaska used their body as a measuring device and employed ratios extensively in their daily practices. "Math in a Cultural Context" is developing curriculum materials based on Yup'ik Elders use of…

Students explored variation and expectation in a probability activity at the end of the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study across grades 4-6. The activity involved experiments in tossing coins both manually and with simulation using the graphing software, "TinkerPlots." Initial responses indicated that the students were aware of…

This paper examines how mathematical understandings might emerge through student-centred inquiry. Data is drawn from a research project on student-centred curriculum integration (CI) that situated mathematics within authentic problem-solving contexts and involved students in collaboratively constructed curriculum. Participatory action research…