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1 – 10 of over 7000Robert Weinhandl, Zsolt Lavicza and Tony Houghton
Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To…
Abstract
Purpose
Flipped classroom approaches (FCA) are an educational innovation that could increase students' learning outcomes in, and their enjoyment of, mathematics or STEM education. To integrate FCA into education sustainably, professional teacher development (PTD) is a promising tool. The research aim is to explore which aspects should be considered when developing and implementing professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 20 expert interviews were conducted and analysed according to a synthesis of grounded theory approaches and qualitative interview study principles.
Findings
Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
Originality/value
Evaluating the interview data indicates that the characteristics of different teacher types in PTD, learning activities in PTD and the DSE model derived in this study could be vital elements in professional mathematics or STEM teacher development for flipped approaches.
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This study aimed to determine the expectations of students from mathematics teachers in the planning phase of lesson study (LS) in mathematics classrooms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to determine the expectations of students from mathematics teachers in the planning phase of lesson study (LS) in mathematics classrooms.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reported only a part of large-scale action research. The participants were Grade 8 students selected by the convenience sampling method. The data were obtained through open-ended questions. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data.
Findings
Four categories emerged: connection, technology-supported teaching, use of concrete materials, practice, and teacher behavior and teaching style.
Research limitations/implications
This study reveals how students in a different culture and education system, such as Türkiye, want to learn mathematics in the LS process of Japanese origin. It also gives some important clues for applying LS in a different culture.
Practical implications
This study may attract the attention of educational stakeholders who want to implement LS in mathematics classrooms by considering student perspectives.
Social implications
Due to the nature of LS, this study may emphasize teacher–student and teacher–teacher interactions. Thus, it can draw attention to the importance of social learning environments where students take responsibility and interact.
Originality/value
This study emphasizes the importance of listening to student voices in LS. Some ideas about mathematics teaching in Turkey should also be given. Finally, it can provide a good basis for understanding and comparing LS practices in different cultures and understandings.
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This study aims to describe the feasibility of designing and fostering pre-service teacher inquiry at the intersection of community and disciplinary engagement. Mapping My Math…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to describe the feasibility of designing and fostering pre-service teacher inquiry at the intersection of community and disciplinary engagement. Mapping My Math (MMM), a game-based and mobile learning activity, guided pre-service teachers in playfully exploring mathematics featured in the everyday activities of people and places and creatively representing this inquiry with digital media.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws from design-based research that examined the role of place, digital media and mobility in mathematics teacher education. Design narrative methods describe how MMM was created, implemented and refined to support disciplinary inquiry across settings given the evolution of tools, activities and practices. The study and design narrative address the following question: How can game-based and mobile learning be designed to support pre-service teachers’ disciplinary inquiry of everyday mathematics?
Findings
Findings shared in this study’s design narrative attend to the quality of pre-service teachers’ inquiry-as-play, or expressive mobility situated amonglearners’ social and material relations, disciplinary concepts and the built environment.
Research limitations/implications
Implications from this study concern the role of mobile learning in mathematics teacher education to connect school, community and online settings; the potential of gameful design to impact pre-service teacher learning across settings; and the importance of fostering disciplinary inquiry whereby pre-service teachers can “navigate” their own learning.
Originality/value
Game-based and mobile learning designs, like MMM, can create the conditions for cross-setting mobility as generative of inquiry-as-play in mathematics teacher education. MMM encouraged pre-service teachers to playfully leverage disciplinary practices that shaped new relationships with mathematics, their city and the mathematics of place and community.
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Cecelia M. Brown and Teri J. Murphy
Research in undergraduate mathematics education (RUME), the study of teaching and learning of college mathematics, is a new area of research in mathematics. Information to support…
Abstract
Research in undergraduate mathematics education (RUME), the study of teaching and learning of college mathematics, is a new area of research in mathematics. Information to support this discipline is found in publications from all over the world, in the form of monographs, reports, research guidelines and resource manuals, as well as journal articles. Researchers in RUME require access to materials that are specific not only to their field, but also to the broader literature of mathematics, education, learning theories, instructional strategies, alternative assessment techniques, cognitive development and human behavior. This annotated bibliography is designed to be a template for a comprehensive and up‐to‐date collection of RUME resources. World Wide Web (Web) locations for many of the items are provided, as are descriptions of several Web sites that present information of interest to RUME researchers.
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Shahid Hussain Mughal, Muhammad Mujtaba Asad and Donnie Adams
The national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan has emphasized on improving content knowledge, reasoning abilities and problem-solving skills of students about thinking…
Abstract
Purpose
The national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan has emphasized on improving content knowledge, reasoning abilities and problem-solving skills of students about thinking, communicating and solving mathematics (national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan, 2006). Whereas, there is a need to understand the point of view of teachers about the challenges they face in achieving the goals of national mathematics curriculum. This will help leading teacher training institutions to revisit their math teacher continuous professional development (CPD) programs and facilitate school leadership in improving the quality of math education in rural schools of the province. However, the purpose of this research study is to figure out the challenges that teachers are facing while achieving the goals of the national curriculum by teaching mathematics at the primary level in educational institutes of Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
In this research study qualitative research approaches have been utilized, in which focus group discussions (FGDs) were used as data collection techniques. Furthermore, thematic analysis of the data led toward the development of four overarching themes such as teachers' knowledge about mathematics curriculum, challenges relating to mathematics content and pedagogy, difficulties in developing conceptual understanding and designing lesson plans to address students' diversity.
Findings
The overall findings of this research study suggested that the majority of teachers are facing difficulties in mathematics content teaching such as decimal fraction, unitary method, measurement principles, practical geometry and data handling. Moreover, teachers are also facing challenges and difficulties in developing hands-on and minds-on activities in the teaching of mathematical concepts to the students of primary level in educational institutes of Pakistan.
Practical implications
This research study will facilitate the teachers and stakeholders to address the problematic issues in the domain of content delivery of mathematics. Whereas, this study recommends educating teachers about national mathematics curriculum and to develop a CPD framework for mathematics teachers for the enhancement of their pedagogical content knowledge. The study also recommends orientating school heads about the different aspects of math curriculum so that they can mentor math teachers in achieving math curriculum goals.
Originality/value
This is the first research study of its nature, which targets and highlights the teacher's perceptions toward the achieving the goals of national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan and addressing the pedagogical challenges faced in mathematics teachers. There is a dearth of studies in mathematics education in Sindh province. The issue is of immense importance, the findings will help teachers to improve mathematics instructions at primary level.
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The purpose of this paper is to review the research concerning the use of lesson studies in the education of secondary school prospective mathematics teachers. It discusses the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review the research concerning the use of lesson studies in the education of secondary school prospective mathematics teachers. It discusses the adaptations made on the designs, the aims and outcomes established, the processes used, and the needed improvements in the experiences reported so far.
Design/methodology/approach
The scientific studies reviewed were identified in a Google search, using the key words “lesson study”, “mathematics”, and “secondary.” The identified material was recorded in a database and the themes for the analysis cover the planning, execution, and reflection phases of a formative process.
Findings
The paper identifies the several pending issues regarding the use of lesson studies in prospective teacher education such as defining the aims, establishing the relationships among participants, scaling, and adapting lesson studies for the particular purpose of educating future teachers.
Research limitations/implications
At a practical level, this review suggests that lesson studies in pre-service teacher education must have a clear formative aim. It also shows that many formats are possible and must be chosen according to the specific conditions. In addition, it suggests the need for research regarding the definition of the aims, the working relationships established among participants, the problem of scale, and the problem of adaptation or simplification.
Originality/value
The paper identifies the key issues in the design of lesson studies in initial teacher education. It argues that besides signaling the positive outcomes, more critical (or self-critical) investigations are needed, e.g. using external researchers as “critical friends”, which address their difficulties, limitations, and drawbacks in a more thorough way.
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Mun Yee Lai and Yin Wah Priscilla Lo‐Fu
The purpose of this paper is to report a case study of how learning study was incorporated in teacher education programs in Hong Kong. It aims to share the success of the program…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a case study of how learning study was incorporated in teacher education programs in Hong Kong. It aims to share the success of the program and to disseminate how pre‐service teachers enhanced their mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge by practising learning study. Building on the work, this paper suggests incorporating the framework of learning study, a theory‐guided pedagogical principle, as an integrated subject of mathematics pedagogy and teaching practice in teacher education programs.
Design/methodology/approach
In total 32 pre‐service teachers’ learning journals of their reflections of learning processes were analyzed. The analysis of data and reporting of findings are linked tightly to how pre‐service teachers enhanced their mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge by practising learning study.
Findings
The 32 pre‐service teachers noted that the learning study subject fostered their understanding of relationship between theory and practice and their understanding of transforming knowledge into action. In particular, they came to understand that knowledge of pupils and content involves a particular mathematical idea or procedure and familiarity with students’ prior knowledge and misconceptions. They also reported that they understood better what mathematics pedagogy content knowledge means and what components it includes.
Originality/value
The suggestions of incorporating the framework of learning study in teacher education programs is supported and manifested by the positive feedback and comments of the 32 pre‐service teachers who underwent the entire learning process of learning study in Hong Kong. The findings demonstrate how pre‐service teachers’ mathematical content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge were enhanced by practising learning study.
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This study aims to highlight the perspectives of one black male middle-school mathematics teacher, Chris Andrews, about developing black students’ positive mathematics identities…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to highlight the perspectives of one black male middle-school mathematics teacher, Chris Andrews, about developing black students’ positive mathematics identities during his first year of teaching middle-school mathematics in a predominately black school. The author’s and Chris Andrews’ shared experiences as black Americans opened the door to candid conversations regarding the racialized mathematical experiences of “our” children, as he referred to them during the interviews.
Design/methodology/approach
The author used case study methodology (Yin, 2009) to illuminate Chris’s salient academic and personal experiences, approaches to teaching mathematics and ways that he attended to mathematics identity in practice. The author used sociopolitical and intersectional theoretical framings to interpret the data.
Findings
Chris’s perspective on teaching mathematics and developing mathematics identity aligned with taking a sociopolitical stance for teaching and learning mathematics. He understood how oppression influenced his black students’ opportunities to learn. Chris believed teaching mathematics to black children was his moral and communal responsibility. However, Chris’s case is one of tensions, as he often espoused deficit perspectives about his students’ lack of motivation and mathematical achievement. Chris’s case illustrates that even when black teachers and black students share cultural referents; black teachers are not immune to the pervasive deficit-oriented theories regarding black students’ mathematics achievement.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this work warrant the need to take intersectional approaches to understanding the ways of knowing that black male teachers bring to their practice, as Chris’s identity as a black person was an interplay between his black identity and other salient identities related to ability and social class.
Practical implications
Chris, even while navigating deficit-oriented perceptions of his students, provides an example of bringing a sociopolitical consciousness to teaching mathematics and to support novice black male teachers in their content, pedagogical, and dispositional development.
Originality/value
This work adds to the limited body of literature that highlights the experiences of black teachers in a subject-specific context, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subject areas that have historically marginalized the participation of black people.
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Chad R. Lochmiller and Kathleen M.W. Cunningham
The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a systematic literature review that explore how recent research on instructional leadership has addressed the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a systematic literature review that explore how recent research on instructional leadership has addressed the role of mathematics and science instruction.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Hallinger’s (2014) approach to conducting systematic reviews, the review included 109 peer-reviewed articles published since 2008 in leading mathematics and science education journals. An a priori coding scheme based upon key leadership behaviors articulated in Hitt and Tucker’s (2016) unified leadership framework informed the analysis presented.
Findings
Results indicate that leaders support content area instruction by facilitating high-quality instructional experiences through curricular and assessment leadership. Leadership frequently involves establishing organizational conditions that support teachers’ efforts to improve their own practice instead of direct leadership action on the part of instructional leaders. This support takes different forms and can include distributing leadership to teacher leaders with content area experience as well as using resources strategically to provide professional development or instructional coaching.
Originality/value
The review strengthens the connections between the instructional leadership, mathematics and science literatures, and identifies some of the leadership practices that these literatures deem important for instructional improvement. The review also reveals the potential for future research exploring the influence of a particular content area on supervisory practice and leadership discourse.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose and evaluate a proactive reflective activity for mathematics student teachers in which they consider mathematical content and its teaching…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose and evaluate a proactive reflective activity for mathematics student teachers in which they consider mathematical content and its teaching in highly specific classroom situations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in context of a mathematics Initial Teacher Education programme in the UK. Participants were invited from the whole cohort of student teachers to identify, script and reflect upon critical classroom incidents. In total, 12 such scripts were produced and then discussed by 17 student teachers in group and plenary sessions. Discussions were audio-recorded. Scripts and discussions were analysed according to four characteristics: consistency between stated pedagogical priorities and intended practices; specificity of the reflection to the classroom situation reported in the scripts; reification of pedagogical discourse; and, reification of mathematical discourse.
Findings
In the results, the authors exemplify student teachers’ insights that emerged from the analysis of the scripts through the typology of the four characteristics, and the authors observe that the student teachers’ insights mirror the complexity and richness of the mathematics classrooms they face. The authors’ examples and their evaluation through the aforementioned typology of the four characteristics illustrate the potency of student teachers’ participation in producing, and reflecting upon, individually and collectively, critical incidents of their inaugural experiences in the classroom.
Practical implications
As these activities take placein the context of teacher education, professional development or developmental research environments, an additional challenge is to generate robust and informative evaluation of teachers’ engagement with reflection and research on their practice. This study takes on this challenge in the context of a mathematics teacher education programme in the UK: the authors propose and evaluate a proactive reflective activity for mathematics student teachers in which they consider mathematical content and its teaching in highly specific classroom situations.
Originality/value
The examples and their evaluation through the typology of four characteristics illustrate the potency of student teachers’ participation in producing, and reflecting upon, individually and collectively, critical incidents of their inaugural experiences in the classroom.
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