In South Africa and in many other parts of the world, decolonising the curriculum has become a valued goal, while frameworks that would systematically support the decolonising project through "instructional design" are not broadly available. In this conceptual paper we bring readers to consider one framework for instructional design, the…

The Great Mini-Golf Project requires students to use a ruler to identify measurements to the quarter-inch, with careful precision and accuracy, which supported the Standards for Mathematical Practice 5 and 6: using appropriate tools to solve mathematical problems with precision (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010). This project also supported Standard…

Early mathematics plays an important role in introducing foundational concepts for number sense in children. One of the critical areas of learning is the establishment of a linear view of numbers. It is essential to create opportunities for young children to understand that numbers are equally spaced on the number line and that they increase in…

Teachers' actions matter greatly in the mathematics classroom, but it is not always clear what guides their actions or from where they come. As teachers strive to create rich and engaging learning environments, how they capitalize on a particular moment is often unclear. Sometimes just identifying potential pathways to take can be challenging. In…

Educational escape rooms (ER) are an instructional activity designed to incorporate many elements of recreational ERs, which have become popular in recent years. There are many reasons to consider incorporating educational ERs into K-12 math instruction or after-school programs/camps. First, they are highly motivating for students because they…

The mathematical modeling process is also a powerful way to teach students the meaning of data. In mathematical modeling, students are collecting data to answer a question. Data collection is the means to an end and not the end in itself. The author was looking for an engaging way to introduce his third-grade mathematics class to the skill of…

Preservice teachers commonly struggle with topics related to fractions, ratio, and proportion. The use of double number lines can facilitate the teaching in these areas and provide autonomy and flexibility in mathematical thinking. Moreover, double number lines support many topics in the curriculum, including unit rate, convenience scaling, and…

High-performing suburban districts are often looked to as a model for teaching and learning. The status quo, for many students, indicated future success. However, when the authors critically examined their structures and practices, they saw places where they perpetuated inequities. Specifically, these practices included tracking students in…

Productive talk is structured talk designed to support students in developing a deep understanding of the content (Michaels et al., 2008): a characteristic of high-quality mathematics instruction (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2014). Students who engage in talk during mathematics class have opportunities to make sense of the…

The lesson described in this article was developed and taught by a team of mathematics educators and physical therapists, with the shared goal of broadening students' perception of how mathematics concepts are applied in the real world. This lesson gives students authentic experience with the Gait Speed Test as a physical therapist would…

Teachers can make number talks more ambitious and increase learning opportunities for students by debugging errors, promoting multi-student thinking, and orienting to make connections. This article describes the basic number talks routine and examines some common tendencies, such as "Serial Sharing." It concludes with a vignette to…

As part of a longitudinal study focused on mathematical play, we (Melissa, Amy, and Anita) are often faced with questions about what counts as play and what mathematics (and other learning) we see in play, and whose play is most likely to be seen or dismissed. Rather than discuss our findings from classroom videos of kindergarten children engaged…

In this article, we describe a case study that was conducted within a study aiming to diagnose grade 5 students' concept images of parallelograms. The theoretical framework that we adopted for this study was that of concept definition--concept image as reported by Tall and Vinner ("Educational Studies in Mathematics" 12:151-169, 1981), a…

This document contains a model policy for state departments of education to create a K-8 Math Act or policy. The intent of such Legislature is that each student is prepared for success in Algebra.

For over a decade, Which One Doesn't Belong? (WODB; Danielson, 2016) has been a beloved classroom routine that invites students to engage in mathematical decision-making and justification. In the WODB routine, four related figures are shown to students, and they are asked to decide which of them doesn't belong with the other three. The beauty of…