Elementary-aged students with behavioral concerns and disabilities struggling to construct sentences stand a high likelihood for continued academic difficulty. Several studies have used sentence instruction with picture-word prompts to improve sentence level writing skills, including construction of simple sentences, syntax, capitalization, and…

Teachers who understand anxiety and its effect on a student's learning and behavior, and use a few common strategies in different and more effective ways, will be less frustrated and more effective in their work with anxious or emotionally fragile students.

Recommendations for reforming high school mathematics curricula emphasize the importance of engaging students in mathematical investigations of societal issues (CCSSI [Common Core State Standards Initiative] 2010; NCTM [National Council of Teachers of Mathematics] 2000). Proponents argue that these investigations can positively influence students'…

A typical mathematics assignment consists primarily of practice problems requiring the strategy introduced in the immediately preceding lesson (e.g., a dozen problems that are solved by using the Pythagorean theorem). This means that students know which strategy is needed to solve each problem before they read the problem. In an alternative…

The provision of gifted students with learning difficulties (GSLD) composes a complicated educational problem that deserves special care. This study explores teachers' attitudes towards the GSLD in two samples of primary school teachers: 225 Greek teachers and 158 teachers in the Czech Republic, 40-59 years of age and with 14-28 years of teaching…

Being situated within a course at the applied end of the spectrum of maths degrees, the pure mathematics modules at Sheffield Hallam University have an applied spin. Pure topics are taught through consideration of practical examples such as knots, cryptography and automata. Rubik's cubes are used to teach group theory within a final year pure…

This research analyzed how fractions are taught in the fourth grade of elementary school in Flanders. Analysis centered on the presence of five features of instruction recommended by research on teaching and learning fractions (i.e., multiple solution pathways, linking representations, estimation and justification of the solution, collaboration,…

We consider two complementary aspects of mathematical skills, i.e. "procedural fluency" and "conceptual understanding," from a point of view that is related to modern e-learning environments and computer-based assessment. Pedagogical background of teaching mathematics is discussed, and it is proposed that the traditional book…

This study investigates whether information saved in the log files of a computer-based tutor can be used to predict the problem solving performance of students. The log files of a computer-based physics tutoring environment called Andes Physics Tutor was analyzed to build a logistic regression model that predicted success and failure of students'…

The purposes of the current study are to develop virtually immersive EFL learning contexts for EFL learners in Taiwan to pre- and review English materials beyond the regular English class schedule. A 2-iteration action research lasting for one semester was conducted to evaluate the effects of virtual contexts on learners' EFL learning. 132…

In this paper we focus on creativity needed for geometric tasks designing, visualization of geometric problems and use of ICT. We present some examples of various problems related to tessellations. Altogether 21 students--pre-service teachers participated in our activity within a geometry course at CPU in Nitra, Slovakia. Our attempt was to…

Instructors of physics courses face the demanding challenge of creating a safe, nurturing community in their classroom while maintaining sufficient rigor. First-day activities are especially important, because they need to both motivate their students and prepare them for the course. Experienced instructors happily share their successful first-day…

The Dirac delta function is a standard mathematical tool that appears repeatedly in the undergraduate physics curriculum in multiple topical areas including electrostatics, and quantum mechanics. While Dirac delta functions are often introduced in order to simplify a problem mathematically, students still struggle to manipulate and interpret them.…

Groups are central to problem-based learning (PBL) and educational and professional outcomes relevant to clinical education. However, PBL groups in practice may differ from theoretical conceptions of groups. Therefore, this study explored students' understandings of the purpose and value of PBL groups for their learning. We conducted a…

The nature of mathematics teachers' knowledge specific to teaching mathematics [MTK] is of ongoing concern in mathematics education research. This article contributes to our under-standing of this knowledge with particular focus on reflective awareness. It discusses MTK based on ways it has been used in research. It highlights reflective awareness…