This study used units coordination as a theoretical lens to investigate how whole number and fraction reasoning may be related for preservice teachers at the conclusion of a math methods class. The study contributes quantitative evidence that units coordination provides a common foundation for both mathematical knowledge for teaching whole number…

The teaching of mathematics does not only require the teacher to have knowledge about the subject, but the teacher also needs mathematical knowledge that is useful for the teaching and explaining thereof, as the teacher's knowledge effects the students' knowledge. A teacher should use appropriate mathematical explanation to be understood well by…

Writing and evaluating contextual problems is an important task in the work of teaching, and thus is part of the knowledge that prospective teachers must develop. In dealing with word problems posed both by children and themselves, prospective teachers will need to attend to the realism of the context and the consistency between the operation and…

The theme of this year's conference is "Critical Responses to Enduring Challenges in Mathematics Education." The theme of this year's conference invites mathematics education scholars to reflect upon and critically respond to enduring challenges in teaching and learning mathematics for all students. To ignite discussion within the field,…

The main aim of this paper is to report on an investigation into primary pre-service and inservice teachers' content knowledge of decimals. The participants were asked to complete four decimal tasks including the ordering of decimals, operating with decimals and converting a fraction to a decimal. The results from both sets of participants are…

These Proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA 2013) held in Chicago, Illinois, November 14-17, 2013. The theme of the conference is Broadening Perspectives on Mathematics Thinking and Learning.…

Math Teachers' Circles have been spreading since their emergence in 2006. These professional development programs, aimed primarily at middle-level mathematics teachers (grades 5-9), focus on developing teachers' mathematical problem solving skills, in line with the Common Core State Standards-Standards of Mathematical Practice. Yet, to date,…

Researchers (Ball, 2003; Ma, 1999; Schulman, 1986) have long investigated how a teacher's subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge impact on students' learning of mathematics. In an attempt to account for the relationship between teacher knowledge and student learning, this study examined four Romanian first grade teachers' knowledge about…

The goal of this study was to investigate understanding of inservice elementary school teachers in Taiwan about number sense, teaching strategies of number sense and the development of number sense of students; and the profile of integrating number sense into mathematical instruction , and teaching practice. Data was gathered through interviews of…

This article details problems and instructional approaches intended to promote preservice teachers' understanding of the reasoning underlying whole number multiplication. (Contains 9 figures.)

Algebra is no longer just for college-bound students. After a widespread push by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and teachers across the country, algebra is now a required part of most curricula. However, students' standardized test scores are not at the level they should be. NCTM's seventieth yearbook takes a look at the…

This book presents research undertaken as a two-year investigation of two sets of related questions about teacher understanding concerning rational numbers, quantity, and proportional reasoning and how this knowledge affects teachers' awareness of how students learn. Chapter 2 provides a conceptual framework. Chapter 3 presents detailed…

Identifies the types of reasoning involved in middle grade mathematics with regard to multiplicative structures and the difficulties students have with the concepts, why these difficulties might occur, and the interconnections within this content area. Offers four recommendations for the preparation and professional development of teachers.…

This PME-NA proceedings volume contains the full text of 41 research papers. In addition, brief usually one-page reports, are provided for 11 oral presentations and 13 poster sessions. The full research reports are as follows: "Cognitive Analysis of Chinese Students' Mathematical Problem Solving" (J. Cai and E. A. Silver); (2)…