This study examines a Technology, Pedagogy, Content Knowledge (TPACK) training framework for pre- and in-service mathematics teachers that enables them to experience inquiry-based learning as learners in a dynamic geometry environment that serves as a mathematics laboratory. We investigate the effect of this experience on the teachers' TPACK,…

We present an investigative activity that was set as part of a course of pre-service teachers of mathematics. The emphasis in the course was set on the importance of using the computerized technological tool for teaching the subject. The activity focused on investigating interesting geometrical conservation properties which are not known to the…

The relationship between teacher interventions and students' mathematical thinking has been the subject of inquiry for quite some time. Using the Pirie-Kieren theory for dynamic growth in mathematical understanding, this study documents teacher interventions that support students' growth toward developing a general understanding of a mathematical…

In this article, we describe one possible way to modify volume tasks in textbooks to promote conceptual understanding of the volume formula: length × width × height. From the results of previous studies regarding students' understanding of volume measurement, we identified three conceptual ideas key to understanding volume: filling…

This study examined pre-service teachers' views and experiences of building geometric constructions on paper and with the interactive whiteboard. The study group consisted of 26 pre-service elementary teachers in a state university in the Black Sea region of Turkey who took the Geometry Teaching course. The data were obtained from an opinion form…

The correct use of visual perspective is one of the main reasons that virtual reality environments and realistic works of art look lifelike. Geometric construction techniques used by artists to achieve an accurate perspective effect were developed during the Renaissance. With the rise of computer graphics, translating the geometric ideas of 600…

Many ways exist to engage students without detracting from the mathematics. Certainly some are high-tech options, such as video games, online trivia sites, and PowerPoint® presentations that follow the same model as Jeopardy; but sometimes low-tech options can be just as powerful. One exciting way to connect with students is by incorporating…

In that current study, pattern conversion ability of 25 pre-service mathematics teachers (producing figural patterns following number patterns) was investigated. During the study participants were asked to generate figural patterns based on those number patterns. The results of the study indicate that many participants could generate different…

A classic TV commercial once asked, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop?" The narrator claims, "The world may never know" (Tootsie Roll 2012), but an Internet search returns a multitude of answers, some of which include rigorous systematic approaches by academics to address the…

An engaging activity which prompts students to listen, talk, reason and write about geometrical properties. The "Bag of Tricks" encourages students to clarify their thoughts and communicate precisely using accurate mathematical language.

To what extent can instructional design be based on principles for instilling a culture of problem solving and conceptual learning? This is the main focus of the study described in this paper, in which third grade students participated in a one-year course designed to foster problem solving and mathematical reasoning. The design relied on five…

This study examined teachers' use of student tasks involving dynamic geometry software, in which a figure is constructed then altered while maintaining its constructed properties. Although researchers, professional organizations, and policy makers generally have been proponents of dynamic geometry for instruction, there is little research about…

In my personal interactions with elementary preservice teachers (EPSTs) at a large Midwestern university in United States, many EPSTs held negative beliefs and attitudes about geometry learning. Although finding ways to help EPSTs change their negative beliefs and attitudes is an important issue, it can be best addressed by first investigating how…

Students' lack of understanding about the relationships between geometry in two and three dimensions led the author to a surprising source of inspiration--the ancient philosopher and geometer Plato. From a theoretical perspective, the author's approach embodies the four instructional strategies that Eggen and Kauchak (2001) suggest for engaging…

Teachers know that Differentiated Instruction (DI) helps all students to learn. Yet DI challenges teachers, and nowhere more than in mathematics. In this new book, written specifically for secondary mathematics teachers, the authors cut through the difficulties with two powerful and universal strategies that teachers can use across all math…