Equal representation as a social issue is about the participation of one social group, in a particular context, in proportion to the numbers in the group within the total population. The proportion of women in parliament, and of the participation rate of students of lower socioeconomic status in higher education, are examples. The aims of this…

First-grade mathematics curriculum has been typically constructed to emphasize the development of whole number and operations. Topics addressed to a lesser extent include algebraic thinking, measurement, and geometry. In this research study, we suggest an alternative to this balance of topics. We compared prior research and learning expectations…

In this paper, we consider mathematical competitions for pre-university students, such as the "International Mathematical Olympiad" (IMO) and many national and regional Olympiads following a similar model. The problems proposed in these contests must be solvable by 'elementary' methods (i.e., without using calculus) and belong…

This study traces curricular support for concepts related to infinity and division by zero, in both elementary and secondary mathematics curriculum documents in our province. It was motivated by results of our previous and ongoing work related to transition to post-secondary studies in mathematics, in which we identified consistent gaps and…

In this paper we compare the early years mathematics curricula of Germany, South Africa, and Australia in relation to the place value concept. Place value is an important topic as it underpins much of the number work completed by learners in the early years of schooling. We found that there were differences between the three curricula that could…

Against the background of the low mathematical performance of South African learners in international panel studies, there is an urgent need to improve mathematical education. In particular, the curriculum and its structure raise questions. It is logical that the prescribed curricula should align with learners' developmental trajectories. Given…

This article sets out to evaluate the English Early Years Foundation Stage Goal for Numbers, in relation to research evidence. The Goal, which sets out to provide "a good foundation in mathematics", has greater breadth of content and higher levels of difficulty than previous versions. Research suggests that the additional expectations…

The number and algebra strand of the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics" (2015) advocates for holding together the study of number and algebra across years K-8--a position that mathematics educators have endorsed in many countries. This recommendation along with the report "Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics"…

These proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 41st annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) held in St. Louis, Missouri, November 14-17, 2019. This year's conference theme is "...against a new horizon." The papers comprise 67…

This article shows how to modify classroom evaluation items to avoid four potential difficulties that limit a teacher's insight into students' mathematical understanding by addressing these issues: (1) poor choice of numbers; (2) implausible or inappropriate contexts; (3) inclusion of graphics that do not help make learning visible; and…

This paper reports on results of a targeted and extended (two school terms) program for building Grade 3 and Grade 4 students' facility with number facts and application for mental computation. As part of a larger project, this paper reports results from two schools. Results indicated strong gains in number fact recall and mental computation for…

As a key concept in early mathematics curriculum, number sense is crucial for children's learning of other mathematics concepts. An earlier curriculum with a strong focus on number sense development presumably helps children perform better in mathematics later on. Chinese students outperformed their United States (U.S.) peers on number sense at…

This study examines the effect of an intervention called Native Numbers on the development of number sense and quantitative skills in low-SES preschool children (ages 5 to 6) in Mexico City, using a randomized control trial (RCT). Native Numbers (NN) is a math curriculum built as an application for "iPads" that includes activities on…

These proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 44th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) held in Nashville, Tennessee, and virtually. This year's conference theme is "Critical Dissonance and Resonant Harmony." The aim of this…

The concrete, pictorial, and abstract methods of this lesson give students access to investigate, isolate, define, and use prime numbers. In this article, the authors describe an enrichment lesson that offers opportunities to investigate prime numbers in concrete, pictorial, and abstract ways. Originally introduced by Jerome Bruner in 1960, the…