Examined mathematical methods courses as part of pedagogical training provided to prospective Chinese elementary school teachers through the analysis of textbooks and courses given at two teacher education sites. Results show that knowing, understanding, and exploring the content and design of textbooks used in elementary classrooms were greatly…

Studied a model for integrating mathematical content and children's mathematical thinking earlier so that prospective mathematics teachers engage with children's thinking in their first mathematics course. Preliminary data from 47 preservice teachers indicate that the sophistication of students taught through this model increased more than the…

Studied the effectiveness of a teacher training approach in which preservice mathematics teachers conduct and analyze one-to-one mathematics assessment interviews with primary-aged children. Findings from interviews with five teachers and a focus group of six indicate teachers are more aware of the strategies children use including their variety…

Reflects on the chapters of this theme issue and summarizes information about children as learners and knowledge about school mathematics, both of which are essential components for effective mathematics instruction. (SLD)

Introduces and draws on other papers in this issue to discuss how task performance is achieved in workplace settings and the extent to which the knowledge needed for task performance is generic. Explores these questions from a variety of theoretical frameworks. (SLD)

Gathered data about work practices related to three motels and two eco-tourism sites. Findings suggest that actual workplace practices involve socially constructed literacies depending on the user's ability to make judgments on using the text or obtaining information from the text. (SLD)

Studied "doing" numeracy in the workplace, analyzing a transcript of a workplace incident involving numeracy as a sales consultant took an order in a motel setting. Discusses ways numerical knowledge is involved in the calculation of rooms and beds available. (SLD)

Examined the knowledge used by motel office personnel to manipulate computer software for everyday tasks. Results suggest that many of the competencies identified were context-specific, and that it may not be possible to apply generic knowledge if the user cannot relate it to the context. (SLD)

Studied complex problem solving in the hospitality industry through interviews with six office staff members and managers. Findings show it is possible to construct a taxonomy of problem types and that the most common approach can be termed "trial and error." (SLD)

Studied the normative nature of workplace activity and knowledge in the front offices of four motels. Normative content in these settings was highly situated and related to concrete action directed at the object of the system. (SLD)

Describes a panel discussion on the acceptability of fiction in academic discourse. Gives advice to scholars wondering whether fiction should be considered as knowledge: stop taking yourself so seriously; embrace "scholartistry", the application of the artistry of imaginative powers to scientific inquiry; know that truth changes; explore the…

The author's doctoral dissertation started out as qualitative research--interviews with beginning women teachers exploring the transition from teacher education into the classroom. She explains why the material could be better conveyed in the form of the bildungsroman, a German term for a novel of formation or education. Chapter five of the…

Traditional, textual descriptions of qualitative findings do not adequately reflect the complexity of human behavior. Artful portrayals provide multiple ways of looking at research material and lead to new insights. The use of found poetry in research is described, as well as a course that introduces graduate students to various artful portrayals…

Because the researcher's interpretation is the final word, traditional research reinforces relations of domination. When popular theater is used as research methodology, the interviewer's interpretation is performed immediately following data collection, and interviewees offer their interpretations of the interpretation. This gives voice to those…

A media unit for inner city high school students examined the relationship between youth and advertising by using drama as the medium through which learning and research occurred. Data were presented through scripted dramatic scenes. How the interpretation and generation of data were embedded in the process of writing these scripts is explained.…