Describes the achievement of Israeli fourth and eight graders on the performance assessment of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The Israeli educational system has stressed practical tasks, and as expected, performance of Israeli students on the TIMSS performance assessment is quite high. (SLD)

This case study looks at how a pupil with Down syndrome is supported during dedicated numeracy time in a mainstream primary school. It examines the relationship among whole-class, group, and individual teaching, the nature of the support the student receives, and his educational and behavioral responses. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Examines ways in which classroom practices create a press for conceptual mathematical thinking and how teachers can promote student participation in a classroom community where conceptual understandings are valued and developed. Details four important sociomathematical norms characterizing a high press for conceptual thinking. Concludes that a…

In the shadow of a Manhattan housing project, Public School 33 is coming back to life. A new principal has brought a wave of optimism, test scores are way up, and middle-class families who used to avoid the school are enrolling their children. In Brooklyn, teenagers who might have dropped out of school are getting diplomas through a special…

This article discusses "Learning by Leading," a multi-faceted, research-based workshop developed to expose at-risk and gifted middle school students to an enriched, collaborative learning experience that strengthened the learning process and provided a new focus on leadership training. These cross-curriculum lessons incorporated science and math…

There are two basic guiding referents in the present investigation: the teaching and learning of school-level geometry (basic concepts of Euclidian geometry and measure) and the analysis of the conceptions of prospective primary teachers in Spain. The work assumes that such conceptions appear and develop during school years, and that consequently,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and…

This study examined the behaviors and experiences of students who needed assistance while working in peer-directed small groups on mathematics problems and the processes that helped or hindered their learning. Students in 4 seventh-grade classes worked in heterogeneous small groups throughout a 3-week unit on operations with decimal numbers.…

This article seeks on strategies to help low achievers persist with learning mathematics. The author discusses an 11-week teaching project with six primary school children who struggle in learning mathematics. It begins with the introduction of affective (emotional) strategies, and followed by a period of consolidation of affective work and ends…

Implementing best practices like cooperative learning, using concrete manipulatives, problem solving, technology, active learning, multi-age grouping, and team teaching have shown benefits for students when learning mathematics concepts within the curriculum (Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde, 1998; NCTM, 2000). What started as a professional development…

This study examined the influence of nationality, age and gender on Chinese (N=130) and Finnish (N=203) pre-schoolers' number sense. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were extracted: one reflecting the children's ability to organise and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and another pertaining to their ability to operate with…

The purpose of this study is to discern the effects of instruction type on minority students in urban schools, mathematics achievement. Two hundred thirteen third and fifth grade (136 African American and 77 Latino) students attending schools in low-income urban communities were provided mathematics instruction in one of two ways: multiple…

This article draws on Lefebvre's rhythmanalysis to interrogate and extend Bernstein's theory of pedagogic framing. It develops a typology of modes of pedagogic practice differentiated in terms of the dominance of one of three potential organising referents. These are (a) the grammar of the instructional discourse configured by a regulative…

Most of the research on motivation in education often uses measures taken outside the context of students' actual learning activities. This paper, however, maintains that students' motivation and learning are situated. Using a diary technique, this study explored how a class of high-achieving students in an Australian state high school (N = 34)…

In the past, the teacher's sole job is to dispense his pool of knowledge to his students. The emergence of the knowledge economy and globalisation have redefined the place and role of knowledge in society. It is no longer effective to accumulate knowledge but rather to acquire skills for processing the large amount of data made available through…