Many scholars have argued that mathematics classrooms often offer narrow conceptions of mathematical excellence, recognizing only some kinds of thinking and some kinds of people as valuable, and conflating mathematical aptitude with overall intelligence. Play offers the potential to disrupt such classroom mathematical practices, by offering new…

This paper is a part of a larger research study that we are conducting to develop a framework consisting of the data-driven best practices around teaching and learning algebra in K-12 classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to develop a usable definition for algebra interventions for the second stage of screening within the larger study, which…

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…

This paper examines the types of teacher questions that assist young students to interpret and explain their critical mathematical thinking (CMT). Focusing on students who enter their first year of formal schooling (aged 5-6 years), this paper draws on data from a one-on-one task based clinical interview conducted with 16 students. Teacher…

This article focuses on the results of an investigation about the "traffic light" method in kindergarten, which is used as a self-assessment method, a strategy by which the preschoolers evaluate their own progress in achieving the learning objectives, and the teacher obtains an immediate feedback regarding the level of understanding of…

The profound advancements in technology have rendered novel forms of data and data visualisation increasingly accessible to individuals within society, thereby influencing daily decision-making processes. To address this change, this study sets out to review recent research on data-driven inquiries at the K-12 level from two perspectives:…

Early childhood teachers (ECTs) play a critical role in shaping the literacy development of young children. The survey described herein broadly sampled ECTs across the United States (N= 612) to learn about their literacy instructional practices, which allows us to connect school context with student opportunities. Researchers have suggested that…

We share results from a one-year early algebra classroom intervention. One kindergarten, one first-grade, and one second-grade classroom participated in the intervention and three classrooms of the same grade levels served as control sites. The intervention addressed the structure of even and odd numbers, mathematical equivalence and equations,…

Understanding how young learners come to construct viable mathematical arguments about general claims is a critical objective in early algebra research. The study reported here characterizes empirically developed progressions in Grades K-1 students' thinking about arguments concerning sums of evens and odds. Data are drawn from classroom lessons…

Fostering students' bidirectional conception of the equal sign (viewing the equal sign as indicating an equivalence of two sides rather than a 'show result' symbol) is challenging, and students' misconception of the equal sign is persistent. Some studies mention that in China, the pedagogical approach to introducing the equal sign supports…

We sought to identify the extent to which an innovative educational technology called ELCII (Early Language Comprehension Individualized Instruction) improved inference making for various populations of kindergarten students. Analyses examined student performance based on individual-level demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity,…

This paper examines two activities in a weeklong Professional Development (PD) focused on implementing mathematical play in kindergarten classrooms. Though the weekly activities all had different goals, the two focal activities (Pattern Blocks and Create-a-Monster) were designed specifically to be both playful and mathematically engaging for the…

We discuss the importance of bringing teaching to the forefront of instructional design. We do so by describing the process of developing an instructional sequence for early number, using design research. The instructional sequence was developed with the specific aim of supporting teaching, conceived as a complex and demanding job, not reducible…

The Numeracy Kit for Kindergarten 5-Year-Olds (NyKK-5) is a tool to support kindergarten teachers' numeracy practices. Based on a pedagogy of enactment, the NyKK-5 was designed to simulate the types of in-class supports that have been identified as critical elements of effective mathematics professional development (PD). Two groups of teachers…

Relative age effects occur when older and younger students are peers in the same classroom. Previous research in this field has shown that older children have higher academic achievement compared to the youngest children in the same grade. This study examined the effects of separating kindergarten students into classes based solely on age. The…