It is important to understand how students reason in K-12 integrated STEM settings to better prepare teachers to engage their students in integrated STEM tasks. To understand the reasoning that occurs in these settings, we used the lens of collective argumentation, specifically attending to the types of warrants elementary students and their…

Evidence in South Africa of poor performance on word problems points to particular challenges among learners relating to difficulties with, on the one hand, making sense of mathematical word problems and, on the other, moving beyond inefficient counting based calculation methods. While many studies in mathematics education in South Africa have…

We investigate encoder-decoder GRU networks with attention mechanism for solving a diverse array of elementary math problems with mathematical symbolic structures. We quantitatively measure performances of recurrent models on a given question type using a test set of unseen problems with a binary scoring and partial credit system. From our…

Learning fractions is essential for academic and daily life success. A critical first step in acquiring fractions is learning to transcode them (e.g., writing ½ when hearing "one half"). However, little is known about how students master fraction transcoding. We addressed this gap by assessing fraction writing in two groups of Brazilian…

As elementary students begin to program using tangible blocks, they must coordinate their use of counting with the movements, directions, and numbers they use to move a character. In our study, we analyzed 13 first graders' first attempts at coordinating these elements when playing a programming game on the iPad that used tangible programming…

Robot toys can be used to promote STEM subjects, particularly coding and mathematics. The lesson described in this article illustrates how a robot toy was used with a number line to explore equality and missing addends in Year 1. The lesson progression models how activities can be sequenced to build on developing understandings while supporting…

Programming activities have the potential to provide a rich context for exploring measurement units in early elementary mathematics. This study examines how a small group of young children (ages 5-6) express their emergent conception of a dynamic linear unit and the measurement concepts they found challenging. Video of an introductory programming…

In recent years, the field of education has challenged researchers and practitioners to incorporate computing as an essential focus of K-12 STEM education. Integrating computing within K-12 STEM supports learners of all ages in codeveloping and using computational thinking in existing curricular contexts alongside practices essential for…

Potential benefits of providing elementary school students experiences with coding robots are well-documented. These include building skill sets related to logical thinking, problem solving, persistence, collaboration, and communication (Harrell 2015). The authors embrace the value of coding in helping elementary school students develop these…

In this study, a research team made up of Métis artists and knowledge keepers, Anishinaabe and non-Indigenous educators, and a non-Indigenous university mathematics education researcher co-designed and delivered an Indigenous cultural mathematical inquiry in a Grade 5 classroom. We explored the connections between loom bead designs and…

The purpose of this study was to enhance our understanding of the relationship between collaborative talk and metacognitive talk during group mathematical problem-solving. Research suggests that collaborative talk may mediate the use of metacognitive talk, which in turn is associated with improved learning outcomes. However, our understanding of…

Eliciting student thinking is paramount to effective mathematics teaching and learning. Although one can use many strategies and techniques to promote student thinking, technology is one resource that is often underutilized. Whether it is the informed use of calculators or an interactive website, technology can be leveraged to promote mathematical…

Having students address mathematical inquiry problems that are ill-structured and ambiguous offers potential for them to develop a focus on mathematical evidence and reasoning. However, students may not necessarily focus on these aspects when responding to such problems. Argument-Based Inquiry is one way to guide students in this direction. This…

This study, focusing on inverse relations, examines how representative U.S. and Chinese elementary textbooks may provide opportunities to learn fundamental mathematical ideas. Findings from this study indicate that both of the U.S. textbook series (grades K-6) in comparison to the Chinese textbook samples (grades 1-6), presented more instances of…

The important role that geometry plays in the mathematics curriculum has been extensively documented. However, the reduction of geometry in school mathematics, and the focus on basic computation and procedures, raises the question of the competencies students acquire and the classroom atmosphere in geometry lessons. The goal of this multiple case…