In the evolving landscape of 21st-century education, inquiry-based learning (IBL) has emerged as a leading pedagogical framework to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and conceptual understanding in students. However, the effective integration of IBL in primary school mathematics education remains a complex challenge, particularly in the…

The use of manipulatives to develop conceptual understanding is a prevalent practice in many mathematical learning experiences, particularly in the early years of schooling. From "primary student perspectives," our understanding of the impact of manipulatives in mathematics education on students' "attitudes" is limited. This…

Develop your students' grade-level mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Discover how your collaborative team can ensure all students learn grade-level mathematics during Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction. This valuable guide provides preK-12 teachers with ready-to-use tools and strategies to help students communicate using mathematical…

There is a growing research interest in examining how mathematics teacher educators grow professionally in their practice. In this study, we focus on the experiences of novice mathematics teacher educators who had been secondary mathematics teachers before becoming instructors of an elementary methods course. During individual, semi-structured…

This study examined 11 U.S. textbooks written for prospective teachers to investigate how standard decimal multiplication and division algorithms are presented, especially the rationale of both algorithms. Analytical frameworks of various methods used in different textbooks were developed. The findings suggest that half of the textbooks do not…

Mathematical games are widely used in primary school classrooms, yet the activities that are labelled as "games" vary considerably in their structure, cognitive demands, and potential to support student reasoning. This conceptual paper offers a typology that distinguishes between pseudo-games, superficial games, gamification, and…

Assessing and monitoring the mathematics progress of students is a key role for teachers. It is important for assessment tools to identify students who are not yet thriving and provide guidance for teachers about how to support these students. In our study, teachers assessed 396 Grade 1 students midway through the school year using the Mathematics…

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals of UNESCO places a focus on quality education for all learners. However, meeting the requirements for quality education seems far-fetched for some developing countries, such as South Africa. The reason being that mathematics performance in South Africa is still an area of concern. The assumption is that this…

Place value competence in early years mathematics is a precursor for success in later grades. In this paper, we analyse the place value visual representations in workbooks from South Africa, Singapore and Australia. A cross-country comparison of curricula materials provides an opportunity to understand similarities and differences in use of visual…

The Great Mini-Golf Project requires students to use a ruler to identify measurements to the quarter-inch, with careful precision and accuracy, which supported the Standards for Mathematical Practice 5 and 6: using appropriate tools to solve mathematical problems with precision (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010). This project also supported Standard…

Teachers' lack of knowledge abound computational thinking (CT) and limited opportunities to incorporate CT in existing curricula pose unique challenges at the elementary level. Despite the crucial role of professional development (PD) in preparing elementary school teachers to integrate CT in classroom instruction, there is little research…

Early mathematics plays an important role in introducing foundational concepts for number sense in children. One of the critical areas of learning is the establishment of a linear view of numbers. It is essential to create opportunities for young children to understand that numbers are equally spaced on the number line and that they increase in…

Natural language is known to play a crucial and specific role for children's learning in school mathematics. Not only does it carry special vocabulary, but subtle differences between natural languages may lead to surprising challenges, for instance, for learners who are not taught mathematics in their mother tongue. In this paper, the…

Children are having fewer embodied social interactions outside (Haidt, 2024). Thus, there is a need to create embodied activities that turn students' attention to each other and nature (Barwell et al., 2022) and that build from their interests (Frankenstein & Powell, 2023). Using a socio-ecological framework that centers on relationships among…

This paper reports three mathematics leaders' reflective accounts of leadership involving working with teachers in primary classrooms. A "nutshell" of each leader's interview is presented in sections: leading change, knowledge creation and relationship building. Similarities and differences in their leadership are described in terms of…