As part of a larger project focused on decolonising mathematics education for Aboriginal students in Atlantic Canada, this article reports on the role of the Mi'kmaw language in mathematics teaching. By exploring how mathematical concepts are talked about (or not talked about) in the Mi'kmaw language, teachers and researchers can gain insight into…

In mathematics education, there are (at least) two seemingly disparate and unethical issues that have been allowed to continue unresolved for decades: the math wars (traditional versus reform teaching and learning of mathematics) and the marginalisation of Indigenous students within K-12 mathematics. Willie Ermine, an Indigenous scholar, has…

As part of a research and professional development project that focused on the opportunities and constraints provided by different kinds of mathematical tasks, a group of 67 primary and 40 secondary practising teachers of mathematics were asked to complete a survey focusing on their use of tasks. In this article, we discuss responses to one…

This study focuses on a group of practitioners from a school district that adopted reform-oriented curriculum materials but later rejected them, partially due to the inclusion of alternative algorithms in the materials. Metaphors implicit in a conversation among the group were analysed to illuminate their perspectives on instructional issues…

This study uses Partial Credit Rasch analysis to study a complex data set of student responses to survey items relating to chance and data. The items were administered in the classroom and collected from 1993 to 2003 in the Australian state of Tasmania. Data were collected from a total of 5514 individual students across Grades 3 to 11 over the…

Although sampling has been mentioned as part of the chance and data component of the mathematics curriculum since about 1990, little research attention has been aimed specifically at school students' understanding of this descriptive area. This study considers the initial understanding of bias in sampling by 639 students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9.…

Considers students' casual attributions as fundamental motivational variables as well as critical motivators of their persistence in learning. Measures optimism, pessimism, and achievement in mathematics in a sample of primary and lower secondary students. Discusses the relationships between grade levels, gender, optimism, and pessimism in student…

Explores teachers' practices and relates them to their goals. Indicates that syllabus documents have influenced teachers' choices of teaching strategies and that most teachers had calculation-based goals for less able students and conceptual goals for more able students. Identifies teaching strategies and discusses the relationships between…

Reports on part of a 10-year interval longitudinal study on teacher assessment practices in Auckland, New Zealand. Indicates that primary teachers are using a variety of assessment strategies in a mastery-based system and secondary teachers commonly use alternative assessment strategies in non-examination classes. Suggests that an education system…

Describes part of a research project in which an indigenous school community began to develop a mathematics curriculum. Although the community used a document to start, many of the dilemmas that they raised were not mentioned in it and the facilitating document became, therefore, a catalyst rather than a stimulus for mathematics curriculum…

Introduces data collated by Glendon Lean on nearly 900 counting systems in Papua New Guinea, Oceania, and Irian Jaya (West Papua) which came from a questionnaire completed by students and talks with village elders. Lean's thesis on the spontaneous developments of these ancient cultures challenged traditional theories describing the spread of…

Presents an exploratory study in which four students from each of grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 were interviewed individually on aspects of variation present in three settings. The first setting was an isolated random sampling situation whereas the other two settings were real world sampling situations. Identifies and describes four levels of responding…

Investigates the types of problems students need to be able to solve in order to succeed in a technology-based age of information and the abilities and understanding that success requires. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/ASK)

Considers cognitive development in mathematics and its relationship to computer technology with special emphasis on the use of visual imagery and symbols and the later shift to formal axiomatic theories. Presents empirical evidence to show how these forms of thinking are enhanced, changed, or impeded by the use of technology. (Contains 36…

Analyzes the development of one student's understanding of vector magnitude and how her problem solving was mediated by use of the absolute value graphics calculator function. (Contains 35 references.) (Author/ASK)