This research reports on the teacher language and gesture that contributed to shifts in thinking about the equal sign and equations observed in twenty kindergarteners who took part in an early algebra intervention. Our analysis revealed ways in which the teacher used language and gesture to support students in moving from describing and working…

This research shares progressions in thinking about equations and the equal sign observed in ten students who took part in an early algebra classroom intervention across Kindergarten and first grade. We report on data from task-based interviews conducted prior to the intervention and at the conclusion of each school year that elicited students'…

This research focuses on the retention of students' algebraic understandings 1 year following a 3-year early algebra intervention. Participants included 1,455 Grade 6 students who had taken part in a cluster randomized trial in Grades 3-5. The results show that, as was the case at the end of Grades 3, 4, and 5, treatment students significantly…

This research focuses on the retention of students' algebraic understandings 1 year following a 3-year early algebra intervention. Participants included 1,455 Grade 6 students who had taken part in a cluster randomized trial in Grades 3-5. The results show that, as was the case at the end of Grades 3, 4, and 5, treatment students significantly…

In this chapter, we discuss the algebra framework that guides our work and how this framework was enacted in the design of a curricular approach for systematically developing elementary-aged students' algebraic thinking. We provide evidence that, using this approach, students in elementary grades can engage in sophisticated practices of algebraic…

This research focuses on the retention of students' algebraic understandings one year following a Grades 3-5 early algebra intervention. Participants included 1455 Grade 6 students who had participated in a cluster randomized trial. Approximately half of these students received an early algebra intervention as part of their regular instruction in…

In this article we advance characterizations of and supports for elementary students' progress in generalizing and representing functional relationships as part of a comprehensive approach to early algebra. Our learning progressions approach to early algebra research involves the coordination of a curricular framework and progression, an…

Mathematics educators have argued for some time that elementary school students are capable of engaging in algebraic thinking and should be provided with rich opportunities to do so. Recent initiatives like the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) have taken up this call by reiterating the place of early algebra in…

Learning progressions have been demarcated by some for science education, or only concerned with levels of sophistication in student thinking as determined by logical analyses of the discipline. We take the stance that learning progressions can be leveraged in mathematics education as a form of curriculum research that advances a linked…

The study of functions has traditionally received the most attention at the secondary level, both in curricula and in standards documents--for example, the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSI 2010) and "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] 2000). However, the…

Examples play a critical role in mathematical practice, particularly in the exploration of conjectures and in the subsequent development of proofs. Although proof has been an object of extensive study, the role that examples play in the process of exploring and proving conjectures has not received the same attention. In this paper, we present a…

This article reports results from a study investigating the impact of a sustained, comprehensive early algebra intervention in third grade. Participants included 106 students; 39 received the early algebra intervention, and 67 received their district's regularly planned mathematics instruction. We share and discuss students' responses to a written…

Examines the nature of mathematically rich tasks and varied ways in which students respond to these tasks. Explores approaches for using such tasks to foster inquiry that engages children in mathematical practice. (Contains 16 references.) (ASK)