One important issue that is receiving attention at both the national and state levels is the need to improve teaching in science and mathematics and to address the shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers in California schools, particularly secondary schools. There is a growing sense of urgency that our national competitiveness…

Just as middle schoolers are "wired" to learn in active, hands-on ways, this book is wired to help teachers spark a vital connection to these students to keep them tuned-in to science. "Doing Good Science in Middle School" combines practical insights about adolescent learners with what master teachers know about how to shift from passive,…

This book offers classroom-tested activities designed to make even the most reluctant learners crazy about math. Appealing to everyone from sports fans to readers, future fashion designers to budding musicians, the activities presented in this book offer ways to develop a deep-rooted love and appreciation of math in every student. Teachers are…

This study investigated the problem-solving competency of four secondary pre service teachers (PSTs) of University of London as they explored geometry problems in dynamic geometry environment (DGE) in 2004. A constructivist experiment was designed in which dynamic software Cabri-Geometre II (hereafter Cabri) was used as an interactive medium.…

The handling of mistakes in the mathematics classroom is an area in which only little research is done so far. In mathematics education there are, in fact, several investigations about students' mistakes from a diagnostic perspective, but hardly any studies on the question how teachers react in concrete mathematics lessons. In this article…

Two key stakeholders in enhancing and building Aboriginal children's capacity to learn mathematics are teachers and the Aboriginal children themselves. In Australian schools it is often the case that the two groups come from different cultural backgrounds with very differing life experiences. This paper reports on an ethnographic study and focuses…

In this paper we focus on the role of signs in students' perceptive processes underpinning the generalization of numeric-geometric patterns. Based on a videotaped Grade 9 classroom group activity undertaken by three students and framed by a cultural-semiotic theoretical perspective, we carry out a microgenetic analysis of an elementary form of…

The study reported in this paper builds on a broader work aiming to identify factors that affect the development of prospective primary teachers' efficacy beliefs (TEB) with respect to teaching mathematics. Eight student teachers were interviewed in the beginning, in the middle and in the end of a fieldwork course; they were encouraged to reflect…

This paper explores the role of co-expressivity of drawing, speech, and gesture as sixth graders strive for intersubjectivity in their attempts to communicate solutions of a spatial reasoning task. Several obstacles to intersubjectivity are documented, particularly conflicts between a literal and geometric interpretation, limits of students'…

In her more than 30 years of teaching, the author has practiced differentiation in her own classroom at all educational levels. Although she is well familiar with the vocabulary, research and reasoning behind it, the most compelling answer she can give for why differentiation matters in the middle grades comes from her personal experience as an…

Learning to Teach Mathematics in the Secondary School covers a wide range of issues in the teaching of mathematics and gives supporting activities to students to enable them to translate theory into practice. Topics covered include: (1) mathematics in the National Curriculum; (2) different teaching approaches; (3) using ICT; (4) mathematics…

This book is written to help readers anticipate and understand problems in university-school partnerships and solve them. It focuses on the collaboration of two elementary schools and a university in the Midwest to improve the mathematics education of elementary students as well as their teachers. A chapter is dedicated to each major group…

This book is divided into four parts, each focusing on an important aspect of evaluating, selecting, or using nonfiction books in the classroom. Under Part I--Choosing Quality Nonfiction Literature: Evaluation and Selection--are the following chapters: (1) "Nonfiction Books for Children: New Directions, New Challenges" (Susan Hepler);…

This book is a teacher's resource guide designed to help students gain the range of math skills they need to succeed in life, work, and on standardized tests; overcome math anxiety; discover math as interesting and purposeful; and develop good number sense. Topics covered in this book include whole numbers; decimals and money; fractions, ratios,…

This evaluation report summarizes Year 4 of the Math and Science Academy (MSA), an initiative of the Northern New Mexico Council on Excellence in Education (NNMCEE). The report begins with an overview of the project and its objectives, and then outlines the research questions and methods used to carry out the evaluation. Findings from the Year 4…