Author(s): |
Borden, Lisa Lunney |
Source: |
Mathematics Education Research Journal, v25 n1 p5-22 Mar 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-03-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Canada Natives; Mathematics Education; Mathematical Concepts; American Indian Education; American Indian Students; Elementary Secondary Education; Mathematics Instruction; Teaching Methods; American Indian Languages
Abstract:
As part of a larger project focused on decolonising mathematics education for Aboriginal students in Atlantic Canada, this article reports on the role of the Mi'kmaw language in mathematics teaching. By exploring how mathematical concepts are talked about (or not talked about) in the Mi'kmaw language, teachers and researchers can gain insight into how Mi'kmaw children think about mathematical concepts. It is argued that much can be learned by asking questions such as "What's the word for... ?" or "Is there a word for... ?" Numerous examples of such conversations are presented. It is argued that particular complexities arise when words such as "flat" and "middle" are taken-for-granted as shared, but in fact do not have common use in the Mi'kmaw language. By understanding these complexities and being aware of the potential challenges for Mi'kmaw learners, teachers can better meet the needs of these students. It is argued that understanding Aboriginal languages can provide valuable insight to support Aboriginal learners in mathematics.
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Pub Date: |
2013-02-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Mathematics Curriculum; Foreign Countries; Community Schools; Rural Areas; Indigenous Populations; Mathematics Skills; Interviews; Mathematical Concepts; Knowledge Level
Abstract:
It is widely accepted that mathematical learning builds upon students' prior knowledge and understandings, and their identities. In this study, this phenomenon is explored with indigenous students in remote community schools in outback Australia. Through one-on-one task-based interviews, it was found that these students had some clear understandings of the measurement concepts involved, although these understandings were often idiosyncratic to these students in this context. The task-based one-on-one interview gave better insights into students' knowledge than the written form of the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy assessment. Nevertheless, the students' conceptions provide a useful basis upon which to build subsequent knowledge, understanding and skills in the forms required by the formal mathematics curriculum.
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Author(s): |
Gordon, Marshall |
Source: |
Teaching Mathematics and Its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA, v32 n1 p19-27 Mar 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-03-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Individualized Instruction; Private Schools; Grade 11; Mathematics Instruction; Secondary School Mathematics; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematical Aptitude; Equations (Mathematics); Mathematics Teachers; Instructional Materials; Teaching Methods; Peer Teaching
Abstract:
Teachers of mathematics recognize the difficulty of reaching every student when the range of student abilities puts a considerable strain on the classroom discussion and time. In a response to the problem, students are grouped so that those with greater mathematical aptitude help those who have difficulties. While this approach is to be appreciated, it tends to mean that the more able students have less opportunity to explore further their own initiatives in mathematics, while those who have more difficulties find themselves on the receiving end with little opportunity to be in the role of enriching the mathematics experience for everyone, including themselves. A "multiple-centres" approach is designed to overcome these problems. In this variation of differentiated instruction, all students get the chance to engage the material from a vantage point and at a level they find interesting and challenging as a consequence of their selecting extensions of the teacher's initial focus problem. This article will present some findings of 11th year (roughly Fifth Form) average mathematics students at a US Independent School in transforming the standard quadratic equation to represent fountain parabolic trajectories, which was the teacher's focus problem, along with some multiple-centre investigations they chose. A further set of opportunities with commentaries providing additional centres for student inquiry are included.
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Author(s): |
Shipman, Barbara A. |
Source: |
Teaching Mathematics and Its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA, v32 n1 p38-46 Mar 2013 |
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Pub Date: |
2013-03-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Mathematics Instruction; Mathematical Concepts; Instructional Materials; Teaching Methods; Misconceptions; Definitions; English
Abstract:
As mathematicians, we assign rigid meanings to words that may have a variety of interpretations in common language. This article considers meanings of "if" and "or" from everyday English that have caused students to misinterpret mathematical statements, and that are consistently overlooked by instructional materials in addressing students' mistakes. To fill this gap, this article presents three studies for the classroom that engage students in confronting the differences between mathematical and everyday meaning in statements of implication and statements of disjunction.
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Pub Date: |
2013-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Teaching Methods; Grade 6; Grade 7; Algebra; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics; Cognitive Structures; Mathematics Achievement; Middle School Students
Abstract:
Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of particular instructional practices that support students' constructions of the partitive unit fraction scheme and measurement concepts for fractions. Another body of research has demonstrated the power of a particular mental operation--the splitting operation--in supporting students' development of advanced fractional knowledge and algebraic reasoning. Steffe (2010) has hypothesized that students construct splitting through the unification of partitioning and iterating operations contained within the partitive unit fraction scheme. We used written assessments of 49 students, across sixth and seventh grades, to test this hypothesis. Our results show that students who have constructed a partitive unit fraction scheme go on to construct splitting within a relatively short period of time. Conversely, students who have not constructed a partitive unit fraction scheme generally do not construct splitting. We discuss these results and their implications for designing instruction and curricula that support students' development of algebraic reasoning. (Contains 10 figures, 5 tables and 1 footnote.)
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