Demonstrates the importance of expanding notions of learning beyond knowledge to the practices in mathematics classrooms. Considers a three-year study of students who learned through mathematical modeling. Shows that a modeling approach encouraged the development of a range of important practices in addition to knowledge that were useful in real…

Reports on a study of the move away from abstract calculations toward "mathematics in context" among 50 British female secondary school students. Discusses implications of findings in relation to reported female underachievement and disinterest in school mathematics. (CFR)

Considered transfer of students' (n=100) mathematical understanding across different task contexts in an integrated process-content approach using open-ended activities and a typical English content-based approach. The integrated approach facilitated transfer. (Contains 26 references.) (MKR/Author)

Suggests that contexts may be useful in mathematics instruction in relation to learning transfer and that the factors that determine whether a context is useful are complex. Discusses the context effect, learning in context, how well students identify with tasks taken out of an adult world, and the effects of ethnomathematics. (MDH)

Considers the experiences of two sets of students who attended schools that taught mathematics in completely different ways using traditional and project-based approaches. Emphasizes that the project-based approach produced equity between girls and boys whereas the textbook approach prompted many of the girls to underachieve. Discusses equity…

Presents a brief overview of the theoretical and historical developments surrounding questions about grouping students by ability. Aims to extend theoretical positions further by examining the way in which setting and mixed-ability teaching influenced the motivations, perceptions, and eventual attainment of students in two British schools. (DSK)

Examines the influence of traditional classroom features on learning in a mathematics classroom in the United Kingdom. Analyzes student interviews, lesson observations, and results of questionnaires to show how traditional forms of education can inhibit understanding, reify the divide between school and "real world," and suppress the…

Traditional and "progressive" methods of teaching mathematics were compared using high school students from two schools in England. Students at the traditional school (approximately 200 students) developed an inert knowledge they did not find useful in the real world. Those taught by more progressive methods (approximately 100 students)…

Illustrates the use of a particular situated method of interpretation in the analysis of data from three-year case studies of two schools. Analyzes various classroom incidents demonstrating that the particular constraints and affordances of formalized mathematics classrooms to which students become attuned contribute to the development of learning…

Explores insights that may be provided by a situated perspective on learning. Considers the ways in which a focus on the classroom community and the behaviors and practices implicit within such communities may increase understanding of students' mathematical knowledge production and use. (Contains 22 references.) (Author/ASK)

This mixed methods action research dissertation examines the effects of implementing growth mindset teaching practices in third grade math as a means to improve student math self-efficacy, math mindset and student achievement. Since the transition to the Pennsylvania Core Standards, students across the state including those in this district have…

Drawing on data from 120 interviews with secondary schools students of mathematics aged from 14 to 18 in England and the United States, this paper argues that young people's developing identities are an important and neglected factor in success at secondary school mathematics. Students in both countries believe mathematics to be rigid and…

Reports findings from the first two years of a four-year longitudinal study on the influence of ability grouping practices on English students' attitudes and achievement in mathematics in six schools. Traces achievement and attitudes of students as they move from Year 8 to Year 9 using questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation. (CMK)

In writing this paper we draw considerably on the work of Jo Boaler and Leone Burton. Boaler's studies of classrooms have been particularly poignant in alerting the mathematics education community to a number of key features of successful classrooms, and how such features can turn around the successes for students who traditionally perform poorly…

These Proceedings are a written record of the research presented at the 34th Annual Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA 2012) held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, November 1-4, 2012. The theme of the conference, "Navigating Transitions along Continuums," focuses on…