This dissertation case study examines how teachers' levels of units coordination afford their ability to reason multiplicatively and fractionally, as well as use their mathematics knowledge for teaching to analyze student multiplicative and fractional reasoning, when a two-year intervention is put into place to evoke new mathematical reasoning.…

Research indicates that a large percentage of students have misconceptions of the equal sign and that this can be detrimental to their mathematical pursuits as they progress through algebra. In order for students to develop a strong understanding of the meaning of the equal sign, algebra teachers must be aware of the viewpoints their students will…

This study examined the impact of an intervention, focused on professional noticing of children's conceptual development in whole number and arithmetic reasoning, on preservice elementary teachers' (PSETs') professional noticing skills, attitudes toward mathematics, and mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics. A video-based professional…

Quality Professional Development (PD) interventions are important to improve teaching in schools (Desimone, 2009) and students' achievement (Wayne, Yoon, Zhu, Cronen, & Garet, 2008). Recent research has been focusing on learning using a situative perspective (Greeno, 2006). Within this body of research, this study analyzed elementary school…

For prospective teachers (PTs) to engage in lifelong systematic learning, they must be prepared to analyze teaching on the basis of its effects on student learning. We present the results of an intervention study aimed at developing PTs' ability to analyze a classroom video sample. The intervention used an online discussion board activity…

South Africa's esteem is low with regard to current learner achievement in mathematics. Results from international studies, such as TIMMS and SACMEQ, continuously indicate that South African learners perform below international benchmarks in mathematics. Research and evaluation studies assert that teacher practices and poor early mathematics…

Despite widespread discourse about the need for teachers to utilize education research, little is known about how teachers learn to engage in this practice. How do preservice teachers understand the use of research to inform their teaching? Set within the context of a mathematics methods course, this study provides a detailed analysis of the…

The aim of the study reported in this paper was to explore and enhance experienced school mathematics teachers' knowledge of students'thinking, as it is manifested in practice. Data were collected from records of classroom observations, interviews with participating teachers, and weekly teacher-researcher meetings organized in the school. In this…

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Responsive Classroom (RC) approach, a social and emotional learning intervention, on changing the relations between mathematics teacher and classroom inputs (mathematical knowledge for teaching [MKT] and standards-based mathematics teaching practices) and student mathematics achievement. Work was…

This study examined prospective teachers' (PSTs) ability to recognize evidence of children's conceptual understanding of mathematics in three content areas before and after an instructional intervention designed to support this ability. It also investigates the role PSTs' content knowledge plays in their ability to recognize children's…

White Paper 5's aim is to provide South Africa's children with a solid foundation for lifelong learning and development. Children need to be nurtured and developed holistically for them to participate efficiently in their democratic society. However, South African students continue to perform poorly in Trends in International Mathematics and…

There is a need for research in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teacher education that addresses the challenge of building teachers' pedagogical skills in fostering the development of mathematical reasoning in students. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics provide teachers with guidance on how to promote…

In this paper, three elements of primary pre-service teachers' relationships with mathematics are explored: mathematical achievement, feelings about the subject, and confidence to teach mathematics. At the beginning of their programme, under half of the pre-service teachers did not meet the numeracy requirements and took part in a support…

Despite over thirty years of theoretically based research investigating "how" teacher mathematical knowledge and instructional practice relate to student learning, it is still largely unclear how these constructs are related, and policy makers and practitioners are still situated in a context with insufficient data to make decisions. Thus, there…

Against the background of concerns around teaching and learning outcomes in primary school mathematics in South Africa, this article presents two studies conducted in American Samoa and seeks to draw implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics in South Africa. American Samoa has a very similar educational context to South Africa. The…