A goal of this study was to examine elementary preservice teachers' (PSTs) ability to contextualize and decontextualize fraction subtraction by asking them to write word problems to represent fraction subtraction expressions and to choose prewritten word problems to support given fraction subtraction expressions. Three themes emerged from the…

The perception of what a teacher says s/he does in the classroom may or may not match the reality of their actual teaching practice. This case study considers one second-grade teacher's instructional methods and pedagogical decisions when teaching number sense and her perception of what informed her teaching practice. This teacher supported…

As students contribute to social and sociomathematical norms, they will often reorganize their own understandings. As such, the purpose of this article is to describe the ways in which prospective elementary teachers contributed to the norms that were established and "re"-established throughout an entire semester in an undergraduate…

This study examines the research on middle school students' understanding of variables and explores preservice elementary and middle school teachers' knowledge of variables. According to research studies, middle school students have limited understanding of variables. Many studies have examined the performance of middle school students…

Can prospective elementary teachers "unlearn" harmful algorithms used with fractions as they are invited to develop fraction number sense? This study examined the development of prospective elementary teachers' fraction number sense during an intermediate (grades 5-8) mathematics methods course. During this course, participants' were involved in a…

Most teacher education programs do not incorporate financial education preparations into courses required for early childhood, elementary education, and middle level candidates. The authors of this manuscript explore the reasons for this omission, particularly the mathematics education component, and clarify the issues surrounding this decision.…

The purpose of this research study was to investigate and classify particular categories of mathematical errors made by students with Limited English Proficiency. Participants included 15 general education teachers, two English as Second Language teachers, and 91 Limited English Proficiency students. General education teachers provided mathematics…

High quality teaching is critical to student learning, yet takes considerable time to develop in particular content areas. Students in high-poverty, urban settings are less likely to encounter experienced and trained teachers. Administrators from a large school district and university mathematics education faculty partnered and attempted to…

This article investigates prospective elementary teachers' conceptions of the repeating decimal 0.999... Five students from a first-semester undergraduate course "Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers" were interviewed to ascertain their conceptions about the mathematical statement 0.999... = 1. All of the students indicated they do not…

This article reports on the logical reasoning efforts of five prospective elementary school teachers as they responded to interview prompts involving nonsense, natural, and mathematical representations of conditional statements. The interview participants evinced various levels of reliance on personal relevance, linguistic contextualization, and…

This study examined the beliefs of individuals providing the mathematics instruction to elementary students with ED in a self-contained setting as compared to general educators in the same school. The study also attempted to determine the factors that influence beliefs of the NCTM Standards. Through analyzing teachers' beliefs of the NCTM…

Action research is a process that classroom teachers undertake to reflect upon and improve their own teaching. This study followed an elementary teacher's two-year experience with an action research project in which her middle school students played mathematical-related games. Through the teacher's involvement in this project, her core beliefs…