The purpose of this study is to investigate the reactions students with low interest in mathematics have to multiple mathematics tasks. Interest has been shown to influence students' engagement, motivation, and achievement (Renninger & Bachrach, 2015; Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000; Kang & Keinonen, 2018). Therefore, understanding what…

Mathematics teachers, are always making and remaking their curricula to better serve the needs of their students. Sometimes, these revisions happen while they are teaching a new task. At other times, as they grow in their thinking, they become aware that some of the tasks they've used for years--and might even name as favorites for their potential…

There is a growing reliance on plastic, even though it is a synthetic material that does not decompose. This article presents a series of six mathematics activities that use plastics as the context to teach environmental education to seventh-grade students. The activities can increase students' awareness of the plastic problem while also serving…

Cognitively demanding tasks have been shown to support students' understanding of mathematics. How a task is launched, or introduced, determines how students engage with the task, as well as the type of work the teacher engages in during the task implementation. The authors designed a unit focused on launching a task where prospective teachers…

Tasks play an important role in mathematics education, as they provide opportunities for students to develop their competencies and to cognitively engage with the mathematical content. The potential for cognitive activation as a central feature of a mathematical task has been considered in numerous studies, mostly as a didactical analysis by means…

Based on an enactivist perspective on learning mathematics, we articulate three key processes of designing mathematics-grounding activities (MGAs) where students' mathematical thinking can be motivated and shaped with the interactions between their enactments and the evolving tasks in the activities. Then, evaluation criteria and design steps will…

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the thoughts of primary and secondary prospective mathematics teachers about educating mathematically gifted students. For this purpose, this research was conducted with 40 prospective mathematics teachers, 17 of whom were secondary mathematics prospective teachers, and 23 were primary mathematics…

Play allows young children to acquire and practice mathematics skills and concepts while engaging in meaningful and enjoyable activities (Bobis, 2010; Reed & Young, 2018). In particular, open-ended play provides children opportunities to discover materials, explore concepts, and solve problems (Rosli & Lin, 2018) and in the process,…

In this theoretical paper, I use an empirically based example to illustrate particular design features of the Learning Through Activity (LTA) design framework and examine the impact of particular design principles. The LTA design framework is based on our elaboration of Piaget's construct of reflective abstraction. The example discussed here,…

Gaining useful insight into real-world problems through mathematical modelling is a valued activity across several disciplines including mathematics, biology, computer science and engineering. Differential equations are a valuable tool used in modelling. Modelling provides a way for students to engage with differential equations within a…

Discrete time models, one linear and one non-linear, are investigated, both with a herbivore species that consumes a basal food source species. Results are presented for coexistence of the species and to illustrate chaotic behaviour as parameters are varied in the non-linear model. The results indicate the benefit of fertilization in terms of the…

Integer operations are typically introduced in sixth grade, but they are a consistent area of struggle among these students. This struggle also inhibits their understanding of algebraic computations involving positive and negative terms. In this article, the author provides introductory tasks and models for adding and subtracting integers that can…

The lesson described in this article was developed and taught by a team of mathematics educators and physical therapists, with the shared goal of broadening students' perception of how mathematics concepts are applied in the real world. This lesson gives students authentic experience with the Gait Speed Test as a physical therapist would…

Our bodies help us learn, and our bodies may know something before we can articulate it. Embodied explorations are body-based learning experiences where learners have opportunities to make sense of and convey ideas with their bodies. These embodied explorations were taught at a suburban public high school, in the southern United States, that…

Proofs as epistemic tools are central to mathematical practice, as they establish and provide explanations for the validity of mathematical statements. Considering the challenge that proof construction poses to learners of all ages, prior research has investigated its cognitive determinants, but the impact of affective-motivational experiences on…