This paper focuses on the definitions and the mis-out and mis-in examples of rational numbers that four prospective elementary teachers presented while working on rational number assignments. The participants were first asked to respond, individually, to an Individual Rational Number Assignment, consisting of items aiming at detecting their…

In South Africa and in many other parts of the world, decolonising the curriculum has become a valued goal, while frameworks that would systematically support the decolonising project through "instructional design" are not broadly available. In this conceptual paper we bring readers to consider one framework for instructional design, the…

Background: This study aims to map the research landscape on numeracy literacy in primary education using bibliometric analysis to identify trends, influential works, thematic developments, and collaboration patterns. Material/Method: Data were retrieved from the Scopus database using a set of defined keywords, limited to English-language journal…

Prior research highlights the role of number manipulation activities in fostering the early mathematical development of children. This study (N = 1,491) explored the effect of a bear-themed intervention on enhancing arithmetic abilities in kindergarten students. Utilizing a pre- and post-test design, the study compared the advancements of children…

Our field is brimming with insights into how children learn mathematics. Yet, much of this treasure fails to reach a group that holds significant influence over children's learning: parents. While most parents want their child to succeed in the subject, many do not know how to help, or are so wounded from their own mathematics education that they…

Teachers' knowledge about mathematical content affects students' mathematics learning outcomes. This study aimed to identify the knowledge of pre-service primary school teachers about mathematical contents. Within a quantitative methodological approach, 150 respondents (58 Papuans and 92 non-Papuans) were involved in this study. An evaluation was…

In this paper we present findings from an initial phase of a more extensive study focussed on ways in which prospective mathematics teachers negotiate meaning from mathematics teacher education situations. The focus of this paper is on the language of one mathematics teacher educator and specifically the interpersonal aspects from one mathematics…

In the primary grades, engaging in counting collections provides students with regular opportunities to make sense of numbers in dynamic ways, build social skills, and communicate about mathematics. This article aims to guide elementary educators through a team's process of planning and implementing counting collections in kindergarten. Counting…

Despite interest in how students' implicit theories--their growth and fixed mindsets about their own learning--affect students as learners, relatively little research on mindset has looked at "teachers" as learners. This study explores elementary teachers' implicit theories about the malleability of mathematics intelligence and teaching…

A Spatial Reasoning Mathematics Program (SRMP) was implemented over 20 weeks with 28 mathematically-able 4th-graders as the second phase of a classroom design study. The SRMP embedded transformation skills in 28 interrelated mathematical tasks comprising 2-D/3-D relationships, geometric growing patterns and sequences, directionality, area and…

Student underachievement in math and social-emotional difficulties represent two urgent problems in our schools which have only been exacerbated since COVID-19. The reciprocal relationship between academic challenges and social-emotional problems, along with limited time and resources, suggest that a combined academic and growth mindset…

This study analyzes the mathematical knowledge to teach early algebra exhibited by pre-service early childhood education teachers, from the perspective of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) model. The research adopts a mixed exploratory-descriptive methodological approach, based on the application of the MKT-early algebra questionnaire…

This article describes how a group of elementary teachers tried to conference with students during mathematics instruction. Teachers participated in collaborative discussions and instructional coaching, and they observed instruction together to deepen their understanding of conferencing and implementing conferences in their classrooms. Despite…

Over the past few years, the author and her colleagues have been engaged in a teaching and research project that explores what it means to "connect math to the real world" and how to effectively design and implement mathematics lessons that integrate real-world, sociopolitical issues with mathematics in elementary classrooms.…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), in 2024, released a position statement on the intersection of culture and mathematics that includes the imperative to recognize mathematics as a "human endeavor and a creative pursuit" (para. 1). To accomplish such a large and complex goal, educators will need a multi-pronged…