The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of technology use and teacher professional development on students' mathematics academic achievement. The U.S. Department of Education National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) published results for mathematics assessments for Grade 4 from the years 2005-2015 served as the dependent…

Teachers' mathematics content knowledge has been shown to be correlated with children's learning. Because teachers often enter teacher preparation programs with weak content knowledge, the college level mathematics courses they take can have a significant impact on the development of that knowledge. The present study examines the mathematics…

Research focusing on algebra from primary to early secondary school level has made several major advances over the past decades. Students' difficulties have been identified and supportive teaching and learning environments have been set up (Cai & Knuth, 2011; Kieran, 2007; Radford, 2008, "Mathematics Education Research Journal," 26,…

Being a parent in the "gifted world" is challenging, especially when you don't have all the information. Whether your child has already been identified and is in a gifted program or you are looking for the school to better meet your child's needs, it's essential to know the various staff and administrators that can help you and your…

Mathematics teacher education aims to improve teachers' use of mathematical knowledge to support teaching and learning, an aspect of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In this study, we interviewed teachers to understand how they used mathematics to make sense of student solutions to proportional reasoning problems. The larger purpose was to…

Despite the importance of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in practical teaching and the inconsistency of teacher quality in different regions in China, there is little empirical evidence for specific differences in teachers' PCK in different districts in China. This study attempted to address this gap through analysis of practical teaching…

This dissertation consists of three empirical studies investigating the ways a group of preservice teachers came to understand and implement mathematics education technologies over the course of a year-long teacher preparation program. In this small-scale explorative study, I attempted to paint a comprehensive picture of pre-service mathematics…

Schools with similar demographics have varying school performance; these differences exist among schools across Western Pennsylvania. Questions remain as to why some schools perform at higher levels than other schools in similar regions. Some researchers posit that leadership practices in different schools may influence student learning and school…

The use of technology has become customary for many faculty teaching in institutions of higher education. And, many institutions provide professional development (PD) for integrating instructional technology into the classroom. But, research shows that many PD opportunities emphasize the use of specific technology tools and are inefficient at…

Over the previous few decades, global education has become a buzzword among education researchers and practitioners mindful of the realities of a globalizing society. In these years, the field has grown to include multiple definitions and ideologies. Neoliberal ideals reflect the development of knowledge and skills for individual and corporate…

Research concerning teachers' pedagogical beliefs shows a strong relationship between planning and instruction; however, the sources of pedagogical beliefs have not been researched thoroughly. Because teachers bring their histories and experiences to their interactions with students, their pedagogical beliefs may also be present in their…

This chapter is about the design and study of a pre-service teacher field experience that takes place at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's immersive space Q?rius ("curious"). Q?rius features more than 6000 specimens including shells, skeletons, fossils, rocks, and minerals that are organized in non-text collections…

This study investigates how well Saudi pre-service teachers feel prepared to teach mathematics at secondary or middle schools through an interview-based exploration. The participants, a sample of 16 female mathematics pre-service teachers, were near the end of the final year of their 4-year education degree. Key findings show that these graduate…

Incorporating modeling activities into classroom instruction requires flexibility with pedagogical content knowledge and the ability to understand and interpret students' thinking, skills that teachers often develop through experience. One way to support preservice mathematics teachers' (PSMTs) proficiency with mathematical modeling is by…

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effects of reform-based professional development on mathematics and science teachers Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). An exhaustive literature search returned 15 studies, from which 21 independent effect sizes were extracted. These studies included, K-12 pre- and in-service…