Over the past two decades, mathematics education reformers have increasingly called for new approaches to assessment. This call urges mathematics teachers to merge their assessment with pedagogy, to employ assessments that engage students in the process of "doing mathematics," and to exploit assessment to support learning. This paper…

This paper is based on data gathered during visits to Uganda and Malawi, conducted by the International Math-teacher Professionalization Using Lesson Study (IMPULS) project and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The author's observations and experiences highlighted misconceptions about lesson study. The paper concludes that…

Promising improved student and teacher learning, Japanese lesson study has attracted many international educators to try to implement it in their own contexts. However, a simple transference model of implementation is likely to meet difficulties. Key determinants of any adaptation will be differences between existing conventions of pedagogy and of…

Lesson study developed organically in Japan over a period of 140 years, whereas in Indonesia, lesson study was introduced as a top-down initiative. This research explores beyond general cultural differences by illustrating how the daily concerns of teachers and their social interactions differ in Japan and in the case of an Indonesian school, the…

This case study explored how students disaffected with their school experience were scaffolded during their participation in a middle-school mathematics classroom. Of particular interest were the level of student engagement in discussion about the mathematics being presented by the teacher and the approach to doing mathematics being displayed by…

As a secondary mathematics teacher, I used practitioner action research to determine effective ways to intervene with students working in groups, with the goal of improving their communication. Utilising transcripts of group interactions and teacher interventions, field notes, and student feedback, I discovered ten different issues that prevent…

Current debates about successful mathematics pedagogy suggest that mathematical learning and problem solving can be enhanced by using metaphors as they provide students with a tool for thinking. But assisting pre-service teachers to understand the importance of careful and accurate explanations for mathematical concepts remains an issue. This…

Successful teacher preparation programs provide learning experiences that help teacher candidates make the shift from "student" to "teacher." In this paper we present research on the implementation of a process for providing candidates such experiences. Utilizing the Mathematics as Teacher Heuristic (MATH) process, prospective…

This paper reports on the results of three different investigations into pre-service teachers' understanding of the mathematical concepts of area and perimeter. Different test instruments were used with three cohorts from two universities in order to identify pre-service teachers' understandings and common misconceptions. The results…

Definitions play an essential role in mathematics. As such, mathematics teachers and students need to flexibly and productively interact with mathematical definitions in the classroom. However, there has been little research about mathematics teachers' understanding of definitions. At an even more basic level, there is little clarity about what…

The importance of using real-life contexts in teaching mathematics is emphasised in many policy and curriculum statements. The literature indicates using contexts to teach mathematics can be difficult and few detailed exemplars exist. This article describes the use of real-life contexts in one New Zealand Year 11 algebra lesson. Data included a…

With increased accountability attached to students' results on national testing in Australia, teachers feel under pressure to prepare students for the tests. However, this can lead to shallow teaching of a narrowed curriculum. An alternative approach involves using data to identify common errors and misconceptions, discussing strategies aimed at…

How do teachers respond to a mathematics curriculum innovation? This paper reports some of the findings from a UK Research Council (ESRC)-funded project investigating how teachers in English secondary schools (students aged 12-16 years) responded to innovation. A Gatsby Foundation funded program implemented new materials; the project investigated…

The practice of lesson study, a professional development model originating in Japan, aligns well with recommendations from research for teacher professional development. Lesson study is also an inductive research method that uncovers student thinking and, in parallel, grants teacher-educators the opportunity to study teachers' thinking about…

In recent times considerable attention has been devoted to the performance of schools and in particular, of students in literacy and numeracy. As part of a national agenda addressing what is portrayed as a crisis in numeracy, and hence mathematics education, governments have introduced a wide range of reform initiatives to improve performance.…