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…

This research contributes to the need to identify and expand learning environments that encourage undergraduate students to develop collaborative work skills and apply their classroom knowledge to solve real-world problems. Using qualitative methods, we examine the effects of the interaction between two teams of students when solving a…

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…

In response to the challenge of geometry's abstract and less engaging nature for students, this study explored the potential of connecting geometry to cultural elements, specifically geometric ornaments found in various cultures worldwide. Geometric ornaments, laden with cultural and spiritual significance, serve as a bridge between mathematics…

This paper describes the conceptions about complex numbers that a group of university students has, these were built from the application of an activity sequence centered on these numbers. This sequence is based on the APOS theory, some aspects of semiotic representation theory, and the use of digital technology. Particularly, both the general…

This study aims to investigate the effect of history-of-mathematics activities on the development of mental computation of middle-grade students and to determine the students' views on the history of mathematics. This study was carried out as an action research project. The participants of the study consisted of 19 seventh-grade students studying…

This paper presents the design and analysis of a Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), which aims to support the refinement of the conceptual system associated with directly proportional distribution problems (example: linear function, percentage, proportion, variation, etc.). The situation explores a context that is close to the student, encouraging…

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.…

This study compared area lessons from Korean textbooks and US standards-based textbooks to understand differences and similarities among these textbooks, as well as how these textbooks address known learning challenges in area measurement. Several well-known challenges have been identified in previous studies, such as covering, array structure,…

This paper reports on a study into pre-school children's self-regulated learning. Analysis is provided through findings taken from a larger study, the core aim of which was to contribute to developing and strengthening self-regulated learning competencies through merging Traditional African music and mathematics. An…

Studies on cognition have capitalized on the role of contexts and experience in shaping our cognitive competence. In the past few decades, the mathematical education research field has begun to pay increased attention to the mathematics practices of both adults and children that take place in non-academic settings. As a result, theoretical fields…

The symposium provides an overview of the Early Years STEM Australia (ELSA) program. The conceptual underpinnings of the program are framed within STEM practices, rather than traditional thinking concerning the integration of discipline content knowledge. We will argue that our focus on practices is more aligned with the play-based and intentional…

Although an understanding of time is crucial in our society, curriculum documents have an undue emphasis on reading time and little emphasis on core underlying ideas. Given this context, a one-to-one assessment interview, based on a new framework, was developed and administered to investigate students' understanding of core ideas undergirding the…

This paper explores young children's drawings (6 years old) in early number and addition activities in Malaysia. Observation, informal interviews and analysis of drawings revealed two types of drawing, and gave insight into the transitional process required for children to utilise drawings in problem solving. We argue the importance of valuing and…

This study explored the potential of a rich assessment task to reveal students' multiplicative thinking in respect to a hypothetical learning trajectory. Thirty pairs of students in grades 5 and 6 attempted the task. Twenty-two pairs applied multiplicative structure to find the number of items in arrays. However counting and computational errors…