The concept of number sense first appeared theoretically in the report published by NCTM in 1989. Although it is an important concept that includes the meaning of numbers and the relationship between numbers, it is very difficult to make a clear definition of it. This could also be true for the concept of integer, which we cannot place in our…

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…

Skills and understanding of operations with negative numbers, which are typically taught in middle school, are crucial aspects of numerical competence necessary for all subsequent mathematics. To more swiftly and coherently develop the field's understanding of how to foster this critical competence, we need shared measures that allow us to compare…

In this article, I describe a research/teaching experience I undertook with a class of 5-year-old children in Malta. The topic was subtraction on the number line. I interpret the teaching/learning process through a semiotic perspective. In particular, I highlight the role played by the gesture of forming "frog jumps" on the number line.…

This paper dealt with the design of learning tools, that was the development of learning implementation plan or Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran (RPP) based on Fun and Easy Math (FEM) approach in the form of a number line model. FEM was an approach in order to teach mathematics effectively to students in a fun and easy way according to the…

This article reflects critically on the guidance offered to South African teachers in two canonical texts: the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and Mathematics teaching and learning framework for South Africa: Teaching mathematics for understanding (TMU). I make explicit my philosophical orientation, and how 'teaching mathematics…

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…

This chapter focuses on the interaction of two first graders as they attempt to make sense of a particular instructional context for learning negative numbers. The context is one where they move an elevator to a building's floors above and below ground in order to model integer addition and subtraction problems. In particular, the focus of the…

In this article, a mathematics teacher educator presents an activity designed to pique the interest of prospective secondary mathematics teachers who may doubt the value of learning abstract algebra for their chosen profession. Herein, he contemplates: what "is" intended by the widespread requirement that high school mathematics teachers…

This article contributes to the research literature concerning prospective elementary teachers' mathematical thinking and learning with a focus on flexibility. We present a case study of a prospective elementary teachers' development of flexibility in mental addition and subtraction during a Number and Operations course. Building upon the…

The language that students use with whole numbers can be insufficient when learning integers. This is often the case when children interpret addition as "getting more" or "going higher." In this study, we explore whether instruction on mapping directed magnitudes to operations helps 88 second graders and 70 fourth graders solve…

The transition from whole numbers to integers involves challenges for both students and teachers. Leadership in mathematics education calls for an ability to translate depth of understanding into effective teaching methods, and this landscape includes alternative treatments of familiar topics. Noting the multiple meanings associated with the…

This article describes how teachers address issues and tensions that students meet in learning division of fractions. First, students must make sense of division of fractions on their own by working individually and in small groups, using concrete or pictorial representations, inventing their own processes, and presenting and justifying their…

The Common Core State Standards (2010) involve the demonstration of conceptual knowledge of numbers and operations. For students who struggle with mathematics and have not responded to instruction, it is important that interventions emphasize this understanding. In order to address conceptual understanding of numbers and operations in meeting the…

Fifteen elementary and secondary teacher candidates solved sixteen integer addition and subtraction problems during think-aloud interviews. Investigators further probed participants' solution strategies as well as what they noticed first when starting a new problem. Task analyses of participants' solutions led to the creation of two distinct maps…