5E instructional model is commonly utilized in science teaching to promote conceptual learning. However, the benefit of 5E instructional model cannot be fully attained if the knowledge and skills essential to learning were not properly established from past. Similarly, the development of new concepts cannot be fully attained if the important…

In this classroom note, we describe the use of a wiki to aggregate student solutions to calculation-based mathematics problems. We outline the setup of the wiki used to support this project, the administrative issues involved in running a wiki, and student reaction to the wiki project. We will describe how students participated, and were assessed,…

This paper discusses the conception of an online formative assessment tool in the field of functional thinking and focuses on the first cycle of a design-based research project. This tool is based on a preceding qualitative research project in an Austrian grade 7 class for examining students' conceptions as well as possible influences of designed…

This study is focused on the threat of retention associated with test-based promotion in Grade 3. Through analyzing the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 data, we found that schools having such a policy apparently increased math instructional time but not reading instructional time in Grade 3. On average, the…

Background: When mathematics teachers embrace the call for pedagogical change, instructional shifts are likely to unfold in complex ways. While we typically view teachers as leading this process, within a figured worlds framework, students play active roles in negotiating the identities, rights, and obligations of all members of a classroom in the…

There is debate over the effectiveness of using touch-screen tablet technology on overall student learning gains. This article provides a meta-analysis of studies that used tablets for the delivery of math interventions, programs, or apps to increase student math achievement. A total of 20 group design studies with 2,805 participants were included…

Making connections to students' lives while addressing content standards within the constraints of the school day is one of elementary school teachers' greatest challenges. One way to address these challenges is to use an instructional routine such as a shared story reading. A shared story reading can support teachers' instruction across content…

Educational opportunity gaps experienced by students of color living in poverty, with accompanying lower levels of mathematics achievement, remain a roadblock to their access to college-level training in STEM fields. To address this problem, secondary teachers must be confident in their ability to share mathematics content effectively with…

This article discusses the importance of visual models in problem solving, in the scope of rational numbers. We seek to highlight the potential of this approach, as a structuring theme in the mathematical development of students in elementary education and the connections it allows to establish. In order for students to be mathematically competent…

Recognizing the multiple interacting layers of pedagogical content knowledge, in this article, we present the findings from a study that examined the extent to which participation in case-based instruction about self-generated visual representations (VRs) supported special education pre-service teachers (N = 25) in enhancing their (a) knowledge of…

As schools adopt more inclusive practices, educators increasingly collaborate and co-teach to meet the needs of diverse learners. Co-teaching has been found to have benefits for students across elementary and secondary grades. However, there is a need for teacher educators to provide more preservice training in collaboration and in co-teaching.…

Results of international comparison studies show substantially better mathematics performance of the investigated Asian than European students from the early years on. A Taiwanese-German Research Program (TaiGer) engages in exploring differences and similarities in the educational system, in teachers' knowledge and beliefs and in teaching or…

Across the United States, there are many elementary aged students whose parents or themselves are from Mexico, Guatemala, and Central America having Mayan heritage. In alignment with instructional concepts that build a positive classroom culture encouraging higher level learning for all students, the authors designed and implemented a curriculum…

Approximations of practice create valuable opportunities for preservice teachers (PSTs) by engaging them in components of teaching. By reviewing the literature, this study explored PSTs' learning through approximations and the extent approximated practices preserve the complexity -- or authenticity -- of teaching. A review of 25 empirical studies…

Understanding is one of the four key ideas in the "Australian Curriculum: Mathematics." This case study investigated preservice teachers' understanding of modified words such as 'regular polygon', where the preceding word/s modifies the meaning of the final word. Data were gathered from 23 preservice teachers who voluntarily participated…