Repeating patterning proficiency predicts students' later mathematical proficiency. A comparative multi-case design enabled the present study to compare patterning success and strategy use for repeating patterns of 75 Norwegian 6-year-old grade 1 students. We provided the students with duplicate, extend, transfer, and unit isolation activities in…

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…

The ability to relate mathematics teaching to real life is the common goal of many countries' mathematics curriculum National Society for Experiential Education's (NSEE) [2011] "Eight Principles of Good Practice for All Experiential Learning Activities." (intention, originality, planning, clarity, monitoring and evaluation, reflection,…

This article focuses on students' meaning-making when working with mathematics textbooks from a multimodal approach that encompasses all resources for communication, which is an under researched area. Central to this study are the designed meanings of the textbooks and the affordances discovered by students when working with the textbooks. Video…

In this new era, computational thinking is becoming increasingly intriguing for indepth study. The 2022 PISA framework illustrates that computational thinking can play a significant role in solving real-world mathematical problems, both in formulating problems and in mathematical reasoning processes. Many countries have integrated computational…

The majority of children in mainstream (no fee, poorly resourced, African language dominant) public schools in South Africa fall significantly behind curricular norms in mathematics by Grade 3; the early learning gap grows across time. The provision of "quality" instructional materials is a well-recognised component of effective…

Derek Hurrell shares a number of geometry tasks designed to tease out students' reasoning. Concrete materials are used to initiate discussions and develop a culture of reasoning in the mathematics classroom.

This study explores whether mathematics tasks in primary school mathematics textbooks provide opportunities for divergent and convergent thinking. Four mathematics textbooks (one from each of first to fourth grades) are examined for this purpose. A task is divided into three segments for the analysis and the segments are named as the beginning,…

School life in England (and beyond) is temporally structured, with learning planned as a time-limited activity, both within lessons and across units of work. Discourses of performativity and measurement pervade school life in many societies and, what we call "regulated time" controls school-based learning. In particular, primary…

Algebra as a study of quantitative relationship is one of four conceptions of school algebra which serves as a foundation for the concept of function. However, there is still a lack of attention to this particular relationship, especially in early algebraic reasoning. This study aims to investigate how the aspect of quantitative relationship in…

This paper reports on a mixed-methods, design-based study conducted with five classes of Primary 6 (age 11-12 years) students learning the properties of 3D solids. The researcher and participating teachers designed mathematics lessons that integrated the hands-on construction of artifacts (i.e., making) with a class set of 3D printing pens to…

Asian schools have consistently demonstrated higher academic achievement in mathematics compared to Western countries, largely due to cultural factors and the intensity of their educational systems. However, this success often comes with increased stress levels, which contribute to math anxiety (MA) among students. Research in cognitive psychology…

This article from Carly Sawatzki and Peter Sullivan encourages schools and teachers to consider ways to embed financial literacy tasks in mathematics lessons more often, and includes an authentic task to try with your students.

Mathematical inquiry is an approach whereby students respond to ill-structured, open-ended questions that reflect the authentic problems we encounter in 'real' life (Allmond, Wells & Makar, 2010). An open-ended ill-structured question has no single correct answer and often contains ambiguities in the problem that require students to make a…