This article describes a framework of Standards-Based Grading suitable for use in a variety of mathematics courses. We detail our experience adapting this framework to various courses, ranging from Pre-calculus to Differential Equations, at four different institutions, including both small liberal arts colleges and large universities, and in class…

NP-complete problems such as the traveling salesman problem (TSP) play a prominent role in most advanced undergrad/graduate courses in discrete optimization modeling. Teaching such an important topic from a purely mathematical perspective without discussing specific applications may result in reduced student interest and motivation. The DeLand…

We have integrated computer programming instruction into the required courses of our mathematics major. Our majors take a sequence of four courses in their first 2 years, each of which is paired with a weekly 75-minute computer lab period that has a dual purpose of both computationally exploring the mathematical concepts from the lecture portion…

While you may be ready to make the change to implementing Mastery Grading, you may still wonder exactly how to do this. This paper seeks to compile recommendations on implementing mastery grading from various sources as well as examples from our own experiences. The reader should expect a detailed overview of the components involved in mastery…

This study explores the impact of Peer-Assisted Reflection (PAR), a structured active learning strategy that emphasizes peer feedback and reflection, on students' perceptions of mathematical thinking, and of the roles their peers and their instructors play in their learning process. This study also examines the impact of PAR on the students'…

This study aims to compare mathematical modelling abilities of prospective mathematics teachers. 38 Turkish prospective mathematics teachers studying at the Department of Primary Mathematics Education and 26 English prospective mathematics teachers studying at Initial Mathematics Teacher Education Program of the Graduate School of Education…

Children see and describe patterns in the primary grades when they develop the meaning of numbers by composing and decomposing. During their early years, they use patterns to learn properties of operations (Common Core Standards Writing Team 2011). While describing the intent of the third-grade standards for multiplication, the CCSS writers…

Specifications grading is a version of mastery grading distinguished by giving students clear specifications that their work must meet, and grading most things pass/fail based on those specifications. Mastery grading systems can get quite elaborate, with hierarchies of objectives and various systems for rewriting and retesting. In this article I…

This article details the adaptation of the FOCUS (Fundamentals of Conceptual Understanding and Success) model (Mireles, Acee, & Gerber, 2014) implemented to improve student success in general education and developmental mathematics at a four-year rural university. The model has been demonstrated successful when implemented at a four-year large…

This paper reports on a study designed to investigate preservice teachers' understanding of factorisation, a topic not explicitly taught within their teacher education programme, but one they will be required to teach when they graduate. We query if the knowledge they bring from secondary school, prepares them sufficiently to teach their future…

This article examines how student learning is affected by the use of team-based inquiry learning, a novel pedagogy in mathematics that uses team-based learning to implement inquiry-based learning. We conducted quasi-experimental and observational studies in intermediate level mathematics courses, finding that team-based inquiry learning led to…

The narrative permeating higher education institutions globally is the assimilation of advancing information and communications technology into mainstream Mathematics Education. In this paper we report on a mixed mode case study which explored possible mathematical gaps that created barrier/s when engineering students (n=162) worked with the…

The reversal error is a prevalent phenomenon that consists of reversing the relationship between two variables when writing equations from comparison in verbal language. A study with 169 Basque/Spanish bilingual pre-service teachers examined whether this error is mainly due to the students' tendency to employ a direct-translation strategy based on…

For over 30 years, the Department has published the Annual Condition of Education (COE) report in order to provide education stakeholders quality information about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2020 COE covers a wide variety of content from information about Iowa's students, schools, educators, administrators, performance and school…