Senior secondary mathematics students could justifiably question the relevance of subject matter they are being required to understand. One response to this is to place the learning experience within a context that clearly demonstrates a non-trivial application of the material, and which thereby provides a definite purpose for the mathematical…

Within this paper I report on aspects of a study aimed at not only discovering how and when students use a graphical calculator within an Advanced-Level (pre-University) Mathematics course, and what operations and calculations they perform with such calculators, but also the depth and type of learning that takes place when students use graphical…

This study investigated professional thinking about pedagogical aspects of technology use in mainstream classroom practice. It focuses on the systems of ideas which frame teacher accounts of the successful use of computer-based tools and resources in the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science at secondary-school level. These accounts…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the pedagogical practices and beliefs of pre-service and beginning teachers in integrating technology into the teaching of secondary school mathematics. A case study documents how one teacher's modes of working with technology changed over time and across different school contexts, and identifies…

This paper offers for discussion and critique a conceptual framework that applies a situative perspective on learning to the study of learning to teach mathematics. From this perspective, such learning occurs in many different situations--mathematics and teacher preparation courses, pre-service field experiences, and schools of employment. By…

This study examines the justifications given by serving teachers of secondary mathematics for their decisions to become teachers. Forty-five teachers, from two regions of England, were interviewed about their professional life histories with one element of the semi-structured schedule including an invitation to colleagues to discuss their motives…

Algebra is no longer just for college-bound students. After a widespread push by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and teachers across the country, algebra is now a required part of most curricula. However, students' standardized test scores are not at the level they should be. NCTM's seventieth yearbook takes a look at the…

Over the last 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has conducted more than 23 large-scale comparative studies of student achievement. The work associated with teacher preparation as well as experience gained in many of IEA's studies, such as TIMSS, led to a request from members of the…

This study examined practices of teachers in Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) high school Algebra I classes. Regression analyses of standardized state testing results allowed for identification of the most effective and least effective Algebra I teachers and schools. The study used surveys, observations, and focus group interviews to compare and…

This research explores the idea of embedding and linking to existing content in learning object repositories and investigates teacher-designer use of learning objects within one high school mathematics course in an online school. This qualitative case study supports and extends the learning object literature, and brings forward context-specific…

A teacher describes how he changed the way his high school students learned mathematics, using cooperative learning methodology and focusing on oral, as opposed to written, examinations and on group effort as opposed to individual effort. As the students' learning changed, the teacher was faced with the new problem of assessing the new type of…

Geometer's Sketchpad is an interactive geometry software package used to help students learn geometry principles. Use of Sketchpad in a secondary education math course at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego has allowed geometry to be taught in a dynamic manner. The paper provides three examples of how Sketchpad is used. Traditional…

This book is a guide to the development and use of performance tasks and rubrics in the high school mathematics classroom. It contains a rationale for, and a discussion of strengths and limitations of, performance tasks to assess student achievement and progress in mathematics. A field-tested process is offered for developing performance tasks and…

This study examines the effects of increased mathematics and social studies requirements for high school graduation on at-risk students. Information was analyzed from the following sources for five high schools in California and two high schools in Georgia: (1) teacher surveys; (2) student surveys; (3) interviews with administrators; (4) student…

This booklet is the fifth in a series of nine from the Teacher Training Institute at Hofstra University (New York) and contains the instructor's and several participants' course project solutions for both Pascal programing courses within the institute. Included in this booklet are Pascal programs utilized with the following project topics: (1)…