The overriding aim of MANOR--a national mathematics teacher center--in the last decade has been to provide a theoretically sound, research-based and practically feasible framework to support Professional Development (PD) for teachers of mathematics at a time of curriculum reform in Israel. This paper focuses on the preparation of, and support for,…

This paper examines two types of discourse in which teachers engage when discussing case studies based on classroom episodes, and the ways in which the availability of video data of these episodes may motivate a shift in the mode of discourse used. We interviewed two pairs of secondary school mathematics teachers after they had read a case study…

The spiral approach has long been used by curriculum designers to deepen students' knowledge of scientific and mathematical concepts and to bring students to higher levels of abstraction. The benefits of a spiral approach, however, can also be extended to teacher education. This paper describes a spiral activity employed by the "Kidumatica"…

This case study of a preservice secondary mathematics teacher focuses on the teacher's beliefs about his role as mathematics teacher. Data were collected over the final 5 months of the teacher?s university teacher education program through interviews, written course assignments, and observations of student-teaching. Findings indicate that the…

This paper addresses the accumulating knowledge of prospective teachers of secondary school mathematics and their acquired proficiency during the course "Psychological aspects of mathematics education," in which we discussed theoretical models including the intuitive rules theory. Participants' performances are examined by means of an extensive…

In this study we investigate a strategy for engaging high school mathematics teachers in an "initial" examination of their teaching in a way that is nonthreatening and at the same time effectively supports the development of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge [Shulman (1986). "Educational Researcher," 15(2), 4-14]. Based on the work…

Outlines several recommendations for teaching probability in the secondary school. Offers an activity that employs simulation by hand and using a programmable calculator in which geometry, analytical geometry, and discrete mathematics are explored. (KHR)

Describes constructivism as an educational theory promoted by the National Council of Teachers of Education (NCTM), the ideals of NCTM's standards, the validity of NCTM's approach, and the research behind NCTM's recommendations. Includes examples of what teachers can do to promote student construction of knowledge in the classroom and resources…

Describes some interesting features of the book "Sumario Compendioso," first written in North America so that others can use it to enrich their classes and forge links between mathematics and other subjects. (KHR)

Presents a way of using greeting cards created by graphing calculators to teach the transformation of functions. Illustrates the steps of making a calculator greeting card and students' descriptions of transformations. (KHR)

Describes a way of using multiple representations to help students learn data analysis and make sense out of a large amount of data. Includes an activity for a group-learning environment. (KHR)

Reviews the use of chi-square statistics for goodness of fit. Examines how to help students relate their earlier work with independence to the use of chi-square statistics. (KHR)

Describes computation of a continued radical to approximate the golden ratio and presents two well-known geometric interpretations of it. Uses guided-discovery to investigate different repeated radicals to see what values they approximate, the golden-rectangle interpretation of these continued radicals, and the golden-section interpretation. (KHR)

Uses poems incorporating mathematical terms to help students apply their knowledge of mathematics to another field and give evidence that what they had learned had become a useful and easily accessible part of their general experience. Includes assignment sheets. (KHR)

Presents four methods for solving a quadratic equation using graphing calculator technology: (1) graphing with the CALC feature; (2) quadratic formula program; (3) table; and (4) solver. Includes a worksheet for a lab activity on factoring quadratic equations. (KHR)