This article argues the importance of teaching students about the philosophical and mathematical underpinnings of Australia's superannuation system as an example of a real-world problem context. It also provides a rationale for teaching financial modelling and decision-making in ways that respect the diverse financial realities represented in…

Understanding exponential growth is a fundamental aspect of developing critical numeracy skills; however, typically, exponential growth is introduced in curricular documents to secondary students. Moreover, such introductions tend to be in the context of formal mathematical modeling, divorced from a sense of quantity. The authors argue that, given…

This practitioner article describes a lesson carried out in a high school classroom at the conclusion of a unit on exponential growth. Two teachers use a series of music-related activities to engage students in using and connecting multiple representations of exponential growth while exploring musical frequencies on a piano.

This study analysed how preschool teachers differently enacted the same mathematical activity for preschool children to discern numbers, and how this affected the children's learning opportunities during the activity. The analysis was based on variation theory and Chi's taxonomy of learning activities. Two Swedish preschool teachers' enactment of…

We investigated the adequacy of the conduct and possible benefits of the use of dynamic maths interviews by 19 fourth grade teachers with students showing low maths achievement to facilitate the identification of maths needs. This study shows the potential of an analytical framework to evaluate the adequacy and benefits of dynamic maths interviews…

Attention to the disconnection between culture and mathematics has been addressed then and now (Wilder (in: Graves et al., Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians, American Mathematical Society, 1950; Liu in Taiwan Journal of Mathematics Education, 8:79-88, 2021b). Recently, studies, workshops, and contests about an approach to…

This qualitative case study of four middle school and secondary school mathematics teachers examines how teachers' reflective practice supported their selection of strategies that align with the needs of current mathematics education according to the 10 dimensions of mathematics education. The findings suggest that teachers' reflection practice,…

Learning with understanding is essential to enabling students to solve problems that they will inevitably face in the future. Students will be more successful, if they are engaged in thought-provoking activities that encourage them to grow in their mathematical understanding and identity. With this study we intended to understand how the…

This is the second of two articles on the life and mathematical legacy of the Indian mathematician Ramanujan, who died one hundred years ago. The first article, "The Life and Times of the Indian Mathematician Ramanujan (1887-1920)" (EJ1269466), which appeared in the previous issue of "Australian Mathematics Education Journal,"…

We present a Scratch task we designed and implemented for teaching and learning coordinates in a dynamic and engaging way. We use the 5Es framework to describe the students' interactions with the task and offer suggestions of how other teachers may adopt it to successfully implement Scratch tasks.

This article presents examples of how early childhood educators (prek-2nd grade) might use their daily read alouds as a vehicle for increasing mathematical talk and mathematical connections for their students.

We describe a formative assessment approach called whole-class think alouds, which foster evidence-based instructional practices and promote the goal of assessment to promote learning. They allow students to collaborate and orally communicate their problem solving.

Area models are an important strategy for representing and solving multiplication problems under the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (NGA Center and CCSSO 2010). The hands-on task presented in this article, featuring differentiation and open-ended learning, sets up students to discover area models for themselves. Organized around…

Productive use of student mathematical thinking is a critical yet incompletely understood dimension of effective teaching practice. We have previously conceptualized the teaching practice of building on student mathematical thinking and the four elements that comprise it. In this paper we begin to unpack this complex practice by looking closely at…

Fluency in mathematics is more than adeptly using basic facts or implementing algorithms. It is not about speed or recall. Real fluency is about choosing strategies that are efficient, flexible, lead to accurate solutions, and are appropriate for the given situation. Developing fluency is also a matter of equity and access for all learners. The…