Various stakeholders in mathematics education have called for increasing the role of reasoning and proving in the school mathematics curriculum. There is some evidence that these recommendations have been taken seriously by mathematics educators and textbook developers. However, if we are truly to realize this goal, we must pose problems to…

Planning is an important phase of teaching, during which teachers make decisions about various aspects of instruction that ultimately shape students' opportunities to learn. Prior research on teacher planning, however, fails to adequately describe experienced teachers' planning decisions, and is unclear about the extent to which teachers use…

One dimension of mathematics learning is developing an identity as a mathematics learner. The social learning theories of Gee (2001) and Wenger (1998) serve as a basis for the discussion of four "faces" of identity: engagement, imagination, alignment, and nature. A study conducted with 54 rural high school students, with half enrolled in a…

In this narrative of teacher educator action research, the idea for and the context of the lesson emerged as a result of conversations between Shelly, a mathematics teacher educator, and Lisa, a quilter, about real-life mathematical problems related to Lisa's work as she created the templates for a reproduction quilt. The lesson was used with…

Even though there is much research related to the teaching and learning of K-12 mathematics, there are few studies in the literature related to university professors' teaching. In this research report, I investigated how three professors of mathematics education structure their graduate level curriculum courses. The results show that three factors…

Learning how to use mathematics curriculum materials to create learning opportunities is an important part of the work of teaching. This paper presents findings from a study involving 15 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in, first, a content and, then, a methods course, and discusses the extent to which three curriculum interventions…

Since the advent of the NCTM "Standards" (1989), mathematics educators have been faced with the challenge of assessing the impact of "Standards"-based (or "reform") curricula. Research on the impact of "Standards"-based curricula has predominantly focused on student achievement; here we consider an alternative: Students' epistemological…

Implementation of a problem-based mathematics curriculum, the "Interactive Mathematics Program" (IMP), at three high schools in California has been associated with more than just differences in student achievement. The outcomes that distinguished students who participated in the IMP program from students who followed a conventional…

As is the case in any country there is a constant search to improve the mathematics offerings presented to school-goers in South Africa. The activity surrounding this search was intensified after the attainment of democracy. The primary aim of this search was to establish a mathematics curriculum that would result in productive learning and the…

Discusses the nature of mathematics, the goals of education, and the political dimension of mathematics. Considers ethnomathematics, the history of mathematics, and advances in ethnomathematics. Proposes a new conception of curriculum. (ASK)