We reject a trajectory approach to teaching that classifies "good" and "bad" teaching actions and seeks to move teachers' practices from one of these poles to the other. In this article we offer instead a conceptualisation of mathematics teaching actions as a "landscape of possibilities". We draw together terms…

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…

Reforms in education have repeatedly been confronted with the challenge of policy implementation. Recent initiatives in mathematics are no exception. Pressing for fundamental and complex changes to pedagogy, the initiatives demand much from teachers. In this article, we propose a conceptual frame for understanding how teachers and schools work to…

This paper explores the use of study groups in a preservice primary mathematics education subject where discipline knowledge (mathematics) is integrated with pedagogical knowledge (mathematics education). In order to address the well-recognized fear and competency levels of preservice teachers in the study of mathematics, study groups were…

Several developments during the last decades have provoked spectacular changes in both Mathematics Teaching and the Education of Mathematics Teachers. From this perspective of renovation, we wish to define a new context in mathematics teacher education in which we consider that "pedagogical content knowledge" (Shulman, 1993, Mellado, 1998; Blanco…

Recent teacher professional development in California tends to focus on increasing teachers' mathematical knowledge. In Australia, pedagogically focused programs are preferred. The two approaches are contrasted by comparing a Californian professional development model based on improving mathematical knowledge in number and algebra with a New South…

This article describes a specific approach to a teacher investigation of students' written work. The aim of the investigation was for in-service middle school teachers to externalize their thinking about their students' mathematical thinking and to then reflect upon these externalizations and make refinements accordingly. This aim mirrors the…

This article discusses three solutions to the "Tower of Hanoi" problem offered by students in a mathematics content course for prospective elementary school teachers. The course uses standards-based pedagogy and teaching via problem solving. Within this work, we consider the growth supported by collaboration at both the students' level and the…

Discusses the nature of the current emphasis on numeracy in Australian teacher training. Describes the rationale, development and delivery of the first year of the "Numeracy Across the Curriculum" unit, provides a brief evaluation from the perspective of staff and students, and discusses what impact such teacher education programs might have on…

Describes a series of five one semester courses attended jointly by prospective and practicing teachers of grades K-8 and in which practicing teachers act as mentors for prospective teachers. (Author/MM)

Describes the development of a web-based resource on school practice designed to support preservice mathematics teachers. Conducts focus group discussions to gain ideas from students about the type of support that would be most helpful to them as they prepare to teach mathematics lessons, and how the university might be able to assist with these…

Describes the mathematics education component of one early childhood teacher education program and explores how the school mathematics curriculum can provide a meaningful framework for the mathematical learning of very young children. Examines a variety of issues pertaining to the early emergence and development of mathematical concepts. (Contains…