This practical lesson on greenhouses implements standards of the Next Generation Science Standards ("K-2 ETS I-2"; "K-LS1-1") and the preschool objectives from the Teaching Strategies GOLD. Teaching Strategies GOLD is an assessment tool available online and in print that can be used with any developmentally appropriate early…

Schools seem firmly rooted in the emphasis on computational mastery, and seldom seem to have time to develop other areas of mathematical thinking, such as real-world problem solving and the application of mathematical concepts. All too often, children seem to do well in math in the early grades because they easily memorize the facts and the…

Mastering the many different diagrammatic representations of molecules used in organic chemistry is challenging for students. This article summarizes recent research showing that manipulating 3-D molecular models can facilitate the understanding and use of these representations. Results indicate that students are more successful in translating…

Classroom teachers try to provide opportunities for students to practice and use the algebra skills they are learning in ways that are nonroutine. They also want to help students connect the big ideas of math with the skills they are learning as part of the balance between understanding concepts and procedures. Math games can be used to accomplish…

This article takes the position that teachers can use simple manipulative materials to model relatively complex situations and in doing so scaffold the development of students' number sense and early algebra skills. While students' early experiences are usually dominated by the cardinal aspect of number (i.e., counting the number of items in a…

Multi-digit subtraction is difficult for students to learn. The purpose of this study is to explore how second-grade students communicate their understanding of double-digit subtraction through the use of manipulatives/tools. This qualitative study reports on six case studies of second-grade students where clinical interviews were the main source…

Seeing pictures of objects activates the motor cortex and can have an influence on subsequent grasping actions. However, the exact nature of the motor representations evoked by these pictures is unclear. For example, action plans engaged by pictures could be most affected by direct visual input and computed online based on object shape.…

Because talking about their mathematical ideas is difficult for emergent bilinguals if they do not have experience with the language used to represent those ideas, constructing math lessons wherein the materials and tasks support the development of fruitful talk is an important task for the teacher. Waiting until emergent bilinguals are fully…

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the implementation of technology integration with multiplication concepts (i.e., repeated, arrays, and decomposing numbers) for struggling third grade mathematics students. This study incorporated the use of virtual manipulatives and student think-aloud recordings to measure students' conceptual…

This paper explores a study completed with 1st grade students while a five-week mindfulness unit was implemented in their classroom. The paper discusses tactics for teaching mindfulness strategies to students and results observed in the students over the course of the five-week study. It also contains journal entries completed by students and…

Instructors of postsecondary classes in statistics rely heavily on visuals in their teaching, both within the classroom and in resources like textbooks, handouts, and software, but this information is often inaccessible to students who are blind or visually impaired (BVI). The unique challenges involved in adapting both pedagogy and course…

With the increasing attention and surge of empirical research in providing academic instruction for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comes the need to provide teachers with research-supported strategies. Using one evidence-based strategy for teaching mathematics to students with high incidence disabilities, and another for teaching…

Students' alternative conceptions of force are one of the most studied topics, important for both science assessment and instruction. Previous studies often described students' alternative conceptions of force with a small number of well-known frameworks by utilizing interviews and paper-pencil tests in their assessments. This study aims to…

In the set of fractal activities described in this article, students will accomplish much more than just creating a fun set of cards that simply resemble an art project. Goals of this activity, designed for an algebra 1 class, are to encourage students to generate data, look for and analyze patterns, and create their own models--all from a set of…

This study evaluated a new measure for analyzing the process of children's problem solving in a series completion task. This measure focused on a process that we entitled the "Grouping of Answer Pieces" (GAP) that was employed to provide information on problem representation and restructuring. The task was conducted using an electronic…