This study examined processes at the core of teacher professional development (PD) experiences that might positively impact teacher learning and more specifically teacher change. Four processes were considered in the context of a PD program focused on student mathematical errors: analysis of students' mathematical misconceptions as a lever for…

Prospective teachers (PTs), enrolled in a mathematics methods course, were asked to analyze children's mathematical thinking by viewing videotaped clinical interviews over the course of an entire semester. They were also asked to conduct two of their own interviews with children as the semester progressed. While the type of analysis varied, all of…

Central in the frameworks proposed to capture the knowledge needed for teaching mathematics is the assumption that teachers need more than pure subject-matter knowledge. Validation studies exploring this assumption by recruiting contrasting populations are relatively scarce. Drawing on a sample of 644 Greek-Cypriots preservice and inservice…

The purpose of this research was to explore to what extent probing learners' errors on simplifying algebraic fractions would help them to reduce those errors. The study assumed that students' errors and misconceptions persist because they handle mathematical concepts as if they were isolated chunks of knowledge. A sample of 15 grade 10 girls took…

While it is well recognized that students are prone to difficulties when performing linguistic-to-algebra translations, the nature of students' difficulties remain an issue of contention. Moreover, the literature indicates that these difficulties are not easily remediated by domain-specific instruction. Some have opined that this is the case…

The objective of this action research study was to explore the use of formative assessment (daily quizzes), including identification of student weaknesses or lack of understanding, along with instructional correctives that are different from previous instruction, to help students attain the intended learning goals. Part of the exploration was to…

A goal of this study was to examine elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs) ability to contextualize and decontextualize fraction subtraction by asking them to write word problems to represent fraction subtraction expressions and to choose prewritten word problems to support given fraction subtraction expressions. Three themes emerged from the…

The attainment and retention of later algebra skills in high school has been identified as a factor significantly impacting the postsecondary success of students majoring in STEM fields. Researchers maintain that learners develop meaning for algebraic procedures by forming connections to the basic number system properties. The present study…

In recent years, the idea of language influencing the cognitive development of an understanding of place value has received increasing attention. This study explored the influence of using explicit number names on pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students' ability to rote count, read two-digit numerals, model two-digit numbers, and identify the…

Tasks that ask students to label rational number points on a number line are common not only in curricula in the upper elementary school grades but also on state assessments. Such tasks target foundational rational number concepts: A fraction (or a decimal) is more than a shaded part of an area, a part of a pizza, or a representation using…

Inequalities are one of the foundational subjects in high school math curricula, but there is a lack of academic research into how students learn certain types of inequalities. This article fills part of the research gap by presenting the findings of a study that examined high school students' methods of approaching absolute value inequalities,…

Background: Trigonometry is an area of mathematics that students believe to be particularly difficult and abstract compared with the other subjects of mathematics. Trigonometry is often introduced early in year 8 with most textbooks traditionally starting with naming sides of right-angled triangles. Students need to see and understand why their…

Research studies have shown that students encounter difficulties in transitioning from arithmetic to algebra. Errors made by high school students were analyzed for patterns and their causes. The origins of errors were: intuitive assumptions, failure to understand the syntax of algebra, analogies with other familiar symbol systems such as the…

The treatment of errors in mathematics classrooms has gained attention in recent years, with many researchers suggesting that errors should be used as starting points for student inquiry into mathematics. In the study reported in this article, we examined how teachers used discourse around errors to generate inquiry by looking at the treatment of…

Examples of four interviews are presented to serve as sample evidence in support of more comprehensive diagnostic procedures in assessing reliably and validly the weaknessess and strengths of learners. The search for computational errors is seen to go beyond standard paper and pencil tests. (Author/MP)