This guidance report focuses on the teaching of mathematics to pupils in Key Stages 2 and 3. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to mathematics teaching. We have made recommendations where there are research findings that schools can use to make a significant difference to pupils' learning, and have focused on the questions that…

Establishing a communication-rich classroom can be difficult. This article describes the process and findings of a practitioner action research study addressing the question of how teachers can interact with their students while they are working in groups to encourage and enhance student-to-student communication. Recommended research-based teacher…

Curriculum materials are among the most pervasive and powerful influences on school mathematics. In many mathematics classes, student assignments, the questions the teacher asks, the ways students are grouped, the forms of assessment, and much more originate in curriculum materials. At the same time, teachers have considerable latitude in how they…

Latinas/os, the largest and fastest growing minority ethnic group in the United States (impels research that focuses on the education of Latinas/os and the need to reduce the achievement gap that persists between Latinas/os and other groups. Such research has gained in popularity; however, it is still very limited. I use my teaching experience…

Recent research shows that U.S. 15-year-olds are behind their international counterparts in problem solving and mathematics literacy, ranking 24th of 29 nations (Lemke et al. 2004). Therefore, a key concern among policymakers and educators is improving the quantitative and analytical skills of American youth, who face job prospects in an economy…

Concrete problems were significantly less difficult than abstract problems at both junior and senior high school levels, as previously observed at elementary school level. Factual problems were significantly less difficult than hypothetical problems at junior and senior high school levels, in contrast to elementary school results. (MNS)

Described is a project, "Mathematics at Work," being produced by the Australian Academy of Science to meet the needs of students staying in school to years 11 and 12 and requiring a "relevant" mathematics curriculum. Materials have been produced and are being used in a trial program. Additional materials are in preparation.…

There is a growing effort to make "proof" central to all students' mathematical experiences across all grades. Success in this goal depends highly on teachers' knowledge of proof, but limited research has examined this knowledge. This paper contributes to this domain of research by investigating preservice elementary and secondary school…

Algebra word problems were analyzed in terms of the information integration tasks that are required to solve the problems. These tasks were classified into three levels: value assignment, value derivation, and equation construction. Novices (35 first year algebra students) and experts (13 analytic geometry students) were compared on the proportion…

The reversal phenomenon was studied with nearly 1,000 Australian students in grades 9-12. The insertion of a multiplication sign in an equation tended to lower the incidence of reversals, but switching from initial letters to other letters made little difference. (MNS)

The relationship between the historical evolution of algebraic ideas and their conceptual development is examined. A study with secondary school students indicates a possible parallelism between algebraic evolution and conceptual development and indicates how historical analysis can guide teaching. (MNS)

Information is presented from a three-year research investigation in London which aims to characterize good mathematics teachers. Teacher, pupil, and classroom perspectives are each included for one teacher. (MNS)

On the Australian Mathematics Competition, boys responded correctly to more questions than did girls, but this difference came largely from a handful of questions. Responses to questions where sex differences occurred are discussed. (MNS)

Reported in this conference proceedings are educational activities related to mathematics education from several countries. The conference was devoted primarily to two major topics closely connected with the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP): (1) Development of an applications-oriented mathematics curriculum for all…

Attitudes toward mathematics and attitudes toward computers were examined for 1,018 grade 8 students and 800 grade 12 students. The female students were more likely than the male students to associate negative attitudes toward mathematics with negative attitudes toward computers. Participation in an eighth-grade mathematics course with a computer…