Ideas of early division prior to formal instruction

Often young children develop ideas of mathematics before they formally meet them at school. Such is the case with early counting concepts. However, little is known about children’s early ideas of division. The study reported here investigated the ideas of 114 children (5-6-years old) before they had received any formal instruction about division in their first year at school. A pencil and paper test comprising worded problems with diagrams was read aloud by the teacher. We analysed children’s drawings on the diagrams. Results indicate that 74% of children could conceive of at least one division situation prior to any instruction. Some children (20%) could interpret quotitive and partitive division problems. Children drawing on diagrams can provide evidence of their conceptual interpretation of division problems

The Ladies of Country Music

ColourHosted by Snook. Featuring Colleen Power, Danielle Hann, Erin Best, Ennis, Petrina Bromley, Jill Porter, Gloria Thistle, Melanie O'Brien, Leanne Kean, Sheila Williams, Karla Pilgrim. House Band Featuring: Sandy Morris, Larry Foley, Chris LeOthe

Edad y crecimiento del pez guitarra Rhinobatos productus (Ayres, 1856) en La Costa Occidental de Baja California Sur, México.

impreso y digita

Biología del pez guitarra Rhinobatos productus (Ayres, 1856), en Baja California Sur, México

Tesis (Doctorado en Ciencias Marinas), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CICIMAR, 2006, 1 archivo PDF, (194 páginas). tesis.ipn.m

Technology in a mathematics measurement lesson about capacity: It's not just about engagement

A larger project sought to capture how five Australian primary teachers used technology in one of their mathematics lessons. In this article we present the narrative of a preparatory teacher who used calculators, a bank of computers and an interactive white board in a lesson about measurement, specifically capacity. In each case, three sources of data were collected: the teacher’s lesson plan, video recordings of the lesson, and audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with individual teachers immediately following the lesson. The Productive Pedagogy Frameworkwas used in data analyses of video recordings to examine one of its four dimensions: intellectual quality. Data indicated mostly on-task behaviours from children interested in the activities. However, there was limited evidence in the development of metalanguage and high order thinking skills. Findings from this case study remind both practitioners and teacher educators to consider the opportunities and constraints of using technological tools for teaching mathematics

Investigating young students’ multiplicative thinking : The 12 little ducks problem

Children’s multiplicative thinking as the visualization of equal group structures and the enumeration the composite units was the subject of this study. The results were obtained from a small sample of Australian children (n = 18) in their first year of school (mean age 5 years 6 months) who participated in a lesson taught by their classroom teacher. The 12 Little Ducks problem stimulated children to visualize and to draw different ways of making equal groups. Fifteen children (83 %) could identify and create equal groups; eight of these children (44 %) could also quantify the number of groups they formed. These findings show that some young children understand early multiplicative ideas and can visualize equal group situations and communicate about these through their drawings and talk. The study emphasises the value of encouraging mathematical visualization from an early age; using open thought-provoking problems to reveal children’s thinking; and promoting drawing as a form of mathematical communication

The practices of middle leaders of mathematics:alignment of their goals and activities

Leading school mathematics is a complex task and the responsibilities and activities involved are not always clearly defined. School mathematics leaders (SML) in Australian schools are often expected to lead improvement in mathematics teaching and learning. Previous research typically focuses on the qualities of effective leaders rather than the practices of SMLs. Investigated in this study were the goals and activities of Victorian primary (elementary) and secondary SMLs and the alignment of their goals and activities. The most frequent goals focused on teams developing shared understandings and practices for improving learning and teaching. The activities of SMLs included a diverse range of activities inside and outside the classroom, irrespective of the leaders’ main goal. These findings have implications for the professional learning of SMLs and highlight the importance of leaders being provided with sufficient time to undertake leadership practices that align their leadership activities with their leadership goals.</p

Demonstration lessons in mathematics education: Teachers' observation foci and intended changes in practice

As part of a teacher professional learning project in mathematics education, university mathematics educators taught demonstration lessons in project primary schools. These lessons were part of a “pre-brief, teaching, and debrief” process, in which up to eight teachers observed each lesson. Using brief questionnaires completed in advance of the lesson, during the lesson, following the debrief, and several weeks later, data were collected on teachers’ intended and actual observation foci and any anticipated changes in their beliefs and practices arising from the experience. There were several common themes in teachers’ intended observations, including a focus on questioning, catering for individual differences, and building student engagement. As evident in other research, teachers’ intended and actual observations gave greater attention to teacher actions and decision making than to student learning and thinking. In this paper, we situate demonstration lessons within teacher professional learning models, describe the features of our model, summarise teacher data, and discuss issues arising from our work