Debating Mathematics Curriculum A Review of Andrew Hacker’s The Math Myth And Other STEM Delusions

Broadly speaking, school mathematics has been placed in a double bind. From state policymakers, there is the culmination of decades of increasing requirements to teach more mathematics, which now often means a requirement of four full years of mathematics in high school or every student progressing through at least a second course in algebra (Remillard et al., 2017). From the mathematics education community, there is growing consensus around the call to ban tracking (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2018; National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics & TODOS, 2016) because of the known harms of identifying and segregating students based on mathematical “ability.” But tracking is one of the primary strategies that schools (and communities) conceive of when trying to meet the demand for all students to complete more mathematics courses

Assessing Journal Quality in Mathematics Education

Excerpt: In this study, we triangulate the rankings in Table 1 with other measures of journal quality offered through database algorithms

The advantages of algebra for learning proof

Calls to expand proof beyond geometry are usually based on the general benefits of proving for students, but this essay argues that proof should be extended to algebra because the representational systems in algebra are well suited for understanding the generality and deductive flow of proofs

Journal Rankings and Representation in Mathematics Education

Excerpt: Publish or perish has long been the mantra academics live by. For decades, this referred to a list of publications on a researcher’s Curriculum Vitae

Mathematics teachers' motivations for, conceptions of, and experiences with flipped instruction

This work was supported by the ReSTEM Institute in the College of Education at the University of Missouri. We thank Abigail Heffern and Nicole Fyten for their assistance with the analysis and Dr. Milan Sherman for his comments on this paper. We also thank the teachers, without whom this work would not have been possible.Flipped instruction in school mathematics has been occurring more frequently. This study investigated two teachers' motivations for, conceptions of, and experiences with flipped mathematics instruction. We found that the teachers were motivated to flip based on colleagues' recommendations and potential benefits for students. The teachers discussed changes to their instruction as a result of transitioning to flipped instruction and we interpreted those changes in terms of how teachers perceived the interactions among students, mathematics content, and themselves. Although the teachers viewed many of these changes as beneficial, some presented new challenges as they navigated their changing role in the classroom

The Mathematical Nature of Reasoning-and-Proving Opportunities in Geometry Textbooks

International calls have been made for reasoning-and-proving to permeate school mathematics. It is important that efforts to heed this call are grounded in an understanding of the opportunities to reason- and-prove that already exist, especially in secondary-level geometry where reasoning-and-proving opportunities are prevalent but not thoroughly studied. This analysis of six secondary-level geometry textbooks, like studies of other textbooks, characterizes the justifications given in the exposition and the reasoning-and-proving activities expected of students in the exercises. Furthermore, this study considers whether the mathematical statements included in the reasoning-and-proving opportunities are general or particular in nature. Findings include the fact that the majority of expository mathematical statements were general, whereas reasoning-and-proving exercises tended to involve particular mathematical statements. Although reasoning-and-proving opportunities were relatively numerous, it remained rare for the reasoning-and-proving process itself to be an explicit object of reflection. Relationships between these findings and the necessity principle of pedagogy are discussed

Who should learn proving and why: An examination of secondary mathematics teachers’ perspectives

Reasoning-and-proving is a crucial part of students’ mathematical experiences in secondary school. There is scholarly debate, however, on the extent to which proving at the secondary level needs to be formal and whether all students should be held to disciplinary standards of rigor. In this study, we investigated the notion of “proof for all” from the perspective of secondary mathematics teachers. We analyzed, using the framework of practical rationality, the justifications teachers gave for whether or not all students should learn proof. Based on interviews with twenty-one secondary teachers from a socioeconomically-diverse set of schools, we found that teachers differ in their opinions of who should learn proving but they were similar in their feelings of obligation toward individual student learning; some teachers cited obligations to individual students as a justification for teaching proving to all students and others cited those obligations as a justification for not teaching proving to some students. We also share teachers’ perspective with regard to their obligations to the discipline, educational institutions, interpersonal dynamics among students, and the worldly relevance of mathematics education

Immunological impact of an additional early measles vaccine in Gambian children: responses to a boost at 3 years.

BACKGROUND: Measles vaccine in early infancy followed by a dose at 9 months of age protects against measles and enhances child survival through non-specific effects. Little is known of immune responses in the short or long term after booster doses. METHODS: Infants were randomized to receive measles vaccine at 9 months of age (group 1) or 4 and 9 months of age (group 2). Both groups received a boost at 36 months of age. T-cell effector and memory responses using IFN-γ ELIspot and cytokine assays and antibody titres using a haemagglutination-inhibition assay were compared at various times. RESULTS: Vaccination at 4 months of age elicited antibody and CD4 T-cell mediated immune responses .Two weeks after vaccination at 9 months of age group 2 had much higher antibody titres than group1 infants; cell-mediated effector responses were similar. At 36 months of age group 2 antibody titres exceeded protective levels but were 4-fold lower than group 1; effector and cytokine responses were similar. Re-vaccination resulted in similar rapid and high antibody titres in both groups (median 512); cellular immunity changed little. At 48 months of age group 2 antibody concentrations remained well above protective levels though 2-fold lower than group 1; T-cell memory was readily detectable and similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: An additional early measles vaccine given to children at 4 months of age induced a predominant CD4 T-cell response at 9 months and rapid development of high antibody concentrations after booster doses. However, antibody decayed faster in these children than in the group given primary vaccination at 9 months of age. Cellular responses after 9 months were generally insignificantly different

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London