This paper emerges from a broader study that investigated the strategies employed by teachers to continue mathematics teaching and learning during South Africa's COVID-19 lockdowns and through subsequent phased and partial re-opening of schools. In this paper, we focus on teacher views of the role of parents in these efforts gathered through two…

Student learning is greatest in classrooms where students engage in problem solving tasks that are cognitively demanding. However, there are growing concerns that many Australian students are given limited opportunities to engage in these types of tasks. 108 upper primary school teachers were surveyed to examine task features and cognitive demand…

Fractions are a well-researched area; yet, student learning of fractions remains problematic. We outline a novel path to initial fraction learning and document its promise. Building on Freudenthal's analysis of the fraction concept, we regard "comparing," rather than "fracturing," as the primary activity from which students are…

As a multifaceted concept, the learning of angle concepts takes years to achieve and is beset with challenges. This paper explores how the processes of constructing and validating a learning progression in geometric reasoning can be used to generate targeted teaching advice to support the learning of angle concept. Data from 1090 Year 4 to Year 10…

The intangible concept of data, as part of statistical literacy, can be complex for young children to grasp. Inquiry as a pedagogy has potential for supporting student development of statistical literacy as the investigation process is driven by the inquiry question. The aim of this paper is to gain insight into how a teacher's communication…

A survey was given to 87 primary students in Years 3 and 4 at a school participating in the "Encouraging Persistence Maintaining Challenge" project. Its purpose was to give an overview of students' attitudes and beliefs about learning mathematics, their motivation, and their self-awareness. Findings indicate that most students believe…

This paper presents primary school teachers' perceptions associated with their engagement in a project aimed at building Year 3 and Year 4 students' number fact and computational fluency. Throughout the project, teachers were provided with classroom ideas and suggestions for engaging students in number fact practice and for generating student…

This case study aims to describe the learning characteristics of a child and evaluate his preferences for using physical manipulatives (PM) and virtual manipulatives (VM) to solve fraction problems. The participant in this study was a fourth-grade child. The child was given similar problems to solve using PM and VM. Data sources were observations…

This paper proposes structural modification of the Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002) Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMTPG) based on results from doctoral research that studied the changes in mathematical knowledge and beliefs of two Year 5/6 teachers as they implemented a four-week, innovative curriculum unit. These inclusions…

There have been many attempts to reform mathematics teaching in Australia to encourage teachers to use more cognitively demanding tasks that focus on problem solving and reasoning. However, there is limited specific advice for teachers on how best to do this. This paper reports on one set of survey items that examines 52 teachers' responses to…

This article reports on the effectiveness of an intervention using conceptual change approaches within challenging tasks, on the mathematics gains for low-performing year 3-6 students in in six primary schools. Quantitative data from PAT-Maths testing for each year showed a consistently large effect size of 0.7 compared to expected gain data from…

In this study we examine the use of cumulative and exploratory talk types in a year 5 computer supported collaborative learning environment. The focus for students in this environment was to participate in mathematical problem solving, with the intention of developing the proficiencies of problem solving and reasoning. Findings suggest that…

A modified form of Lesson Study was used to deliver several lessons over two weeks to develop students' relational thinking and to improve teachers' knowledge of this thinking. Fifteen students in a multi-grade 4, 5 & 6 classroom were surveyed and interviewed using true/false sentence and open number problems involving one unknown number…

"Make It Count" was a large scale, government-funded, project aimed at improving the mathematics learning of Indigenous students. NAPLAN Numeracy test results were used as one measure of the effect of the program. In this paper we report on the performance on these tests of Indigenous students in schools involved in the project. Group…

Upper primary school students' difficulties with decimal place value are widely recognised due largely to the availability of assessment tools that accurately identify students' misconceptions in this domain. Yet, many students' decimal difficulties seem to stem from a lack of understanding of whole number place value for which there are few, if…