This article reports on an exploration of how second-graders can learn mathematics through programming. We started from the theory that a suitably designed programming language can serve children as a language for expressing and experimenting with mathematical ideas and processes in order to do mathematics and thereby, with appropriate tasks and…

There have been many efforts to measure pedagogical content knowledge with multiple-choice survey instruments, but little is known about how different types of items contribute. In this study, we examined interviews with 9 Grade 4 teachers to develop a deeper understanding of how teachers select pedagogical representations in the context of a…

Understanding how environments influence learning requires attending not only to what is present but also to what is absent. In the context of mathematics learning, this means attending not only to problems that children encounter frequently in textbooks but also to ones that appear rarely. We present research in this article showing that students…

Understanding how environments influence learning requires attending not only to what is present but also to what is absent. In the context of mathematics learning, this means attending not only to problems that children encounter frequently in textbooks but also to ones that appear rarely. We present research in this article showing that students…

The purpose of this article is to share how one teacher implemented exploratory writing within a mathematics lesson to support her third graders in making sense of fractions and communicating their mathematical ideas. The author defines exploratory writing, then describes the teacher's lesson while also presenting a general overview about how to…

Numeracy is one of the essential competencies that the objectives of teaching math to primary students should be towards. However, many research findings show that the problem of "innumeracy" frequently exists at primary schools. That means children still do not feel at home in the world of numbers and operations. Therefore, the paper…

Conceptual challenge is often considered a necessary ingredient for promoting deep learning in an inquiry-based environment. However, challenge alone does not support conceptual development. In this paper, we draw on complexity theory as a theoretical lens to explore how a primary teacher facilitated students' conceptual change through repeated…

This research focuses on ways in which balance scales mediate students' relational understandings of the equal sign. Participants included 21 Kindergarten-Grade 2 students who took part in an early algebra classroom intervention focused in part on developing a relational understanding of the equal sign through the use of balance scales. Students…

The description "primary mathematics specialist" has become more frequently used in Australia in the past 10 years, suggesting sustained interest in deepening teacher expertise. Despite this, there is limited contextual research about how to prepare in-service teachers for such roles, and the organising structures needed to facilitate…

This research aims to examine teacher candidates' nature of science beliefs in terms of certain variables (gender, program, and class level). The participants of the research are 364 teacher candidates studying at the faculty of education of a public university in three programs; science education, elementary mathematics education, computer…

Mathematics standards and practices highlight the vital role that language plays in mathematics education. However, there remains a common misconception that mathematics is somehow language-free or less linguistically demanding than other content areas. This qualitative study describes an intervention implemented in six elementary mathematics…

Comics engage students in learning mathematics through their interactive nature and the relatively simple language they use. Not only that, it also helps expand students' thinking through the introduction of contextualized mathematics. This is also in line with the latest math education trend to engage students with math problems in a real-world…

Origami became an increasingly used instructional tool in mathematics education and its successful use depends on developing adequate origami-based mathematics lesson plans. Therefore, this study investigated origami-based mathematics lesson plans developed by pre-service teachers who were trained for the effective use of origami in mathematics…

"Parallel and Perpendicular Lines" is an important topic that serves as a basis for the learning of a more advanced geometric concept in later years. Yet, this topic is hard to master by the students. To pinpoint students' weaknesses in this topic, this study sought to develop a cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA) to assess students'…

Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative research study was twofold. First was to examine the impact of the use of the mindfulness computer program, Inner Explorer, on math success as measured by the cumulative CAASPP scores in sixth-grade tests. The second was to determine how the use of Inner Explorer affected students'…