Search

The article shares the factors that mathematics teachers need to consider to achieve a knowledge-rich and child-centered learning. Topics mentioned include the importance of balance between teacher direction, collaboration, and student autonomy, a framework for using representations to achieve positive learning outcomes, and the implications of knowledge acquisition on teachers.

The flipped classroom concept is the reversal of the traditional teaching activities so that new content is first worked through by the learners independently and then the joint lesson time is used to practise and consolidate this content. This concept can result in didactic advantages. However, it is assumed that the concept also places increased demands on learners. As part of an intervention study with 452 participants in 15 lower secondary schools in Lower Saxony (Germany), pupils were given a questionnaire including the following items “I like this in the flipped classroom” and “I don’t like this in the flipped classroom”. This article analyses the answers to those questions using a qualitative content analysis. The resulting categories are analysed in more detail in a thematic analysis to identify specific aspects of the flipped classroom that the learners like or dislike. The preparation through videos, self-directed learning and adaptability of the learning speed were named particularly frequently in the positively connoted categories. The negative aspects included comprehension problems, the desire for more explanations from the teachers, time pressure, and time management problems. These results contrast with previous research results on the flipped classroom concept in higher education didactics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growth and popularity of Irish-medium Education (IME) in Northern Ireland, the sector has not received the same levels of state support and funding as has heritage language education in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Educating children in an immersive language setting, particularly in a minority or endangered language, is still regarded as disadvantageous to the learner, and that bilingual language education will hinder academic attainment, including maths. We present findings from thematic interviews with 11 primary teachers' perceptions on the challenges of teaching maths in Irish, and how to help the sector develop language skills in, and resources for, teaching maths in the primary curriculum in Northern Ireland. The challenges that emerged from the thematic interviews, include finding teachers with the requisite language skills to teach maths, training and support for Irish-speaking maths teachers, and how children can acquire the right kind of fluency to engage in maths learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This quasi-experimental research aimed to describe the syllabus design process using the backward design model and its features to determine the teacher candidates' perceptions of its application in the English Skills Development course. To achieve these objectives, the syllabus based on the BDM was designed before starting the course; after that, it was applied to sixteen students enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a Hungarian university in Budapest. At the end of the course, the participants developed sixteen final projects related to the main topic of the course, teaching English as a Foreign Language in Hungary and following the Goal, Role, Audience, Situation, Product, Standard (GRASPS) framework to conduct authentic performance tasks. This research method involves collecting data through written reflections, focus-group interviews and content analysis of the conducted performance tasks. The results show that BDM and authentic performance tasks can be used as a coherent, organized, and flexible syllabus design that supports EFL students by providing differentiated instruction to foster their English skills, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking skills, long life and autonomous learning, and digital competencies. Furthermore, the results of the study make an essential contribution to the context of EFL by suggesting that planning the syllabus based on the BDM creates strong connections between course objectives, assessment, content, teaching strategies, and technology, thereby offering a practical framework for educators to enhance their teaching practices in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a government response to a report by the House of Lords Committee on education for 11 to 16-year-olds. While the government disagrees with some of the committee's recommendations, they recognize the significance of a well-rounded curriculum. They commit to maintaining the national curriculum without changes for the remainder of the Parliament and emphasize the importance of literacy and numeracy skills. The government addresses concerns about oracy skills, digital skills, and climate and sustainability education, stating that these areas are already covered in existing qualifications and curriculum. The Committee expressed concerns about the lack of nature, climate, and sustainability education, recommending that these topics be integrated into a wider range of subjects. However, the government rejected this recommendation, although they acknowledged the importance of sustainability and climate change education. The Committee also highlighted the decline in the study of modern foreign languages and recommended that the government promote language learning. The government agreed with this recommendation and outlined measures to support language teaching. The Committee emphasized the need for opportunities to study creative and artistic subjects, as well as technical and vocational education, at key stages 3 and 4. The government acknowledged the importance of these subjects but did not agree with changing accountability measures. The Committee also called for improved careers education and engagement with employers, as well as a review of assessment methods. The government agreed with some recommendations and outlined its plans for careers education and assessment reform. [Extracted from the article]

In mathematics, students' abilities to make transformations between mathematical representations are fundamental. The recent implementation of digital technologies, such as Dynamic Geometry Environments (DGEs), have changed students' access to mathematical representations by providing a variety of different representations, available just by pressing a button. Students use of a DGE may change their mathematical communication to become more dynamic and active. However, it is not clear how the use of DGEs and the change in communication style relate to more epistemological aspects of students' mathematical work. This study, therefore, investigates the interplay between students' dynamic mathematical communication and their transformations of mathematical representations when using a DGE from a competency perspective. Based on analyses of instances of lower secondary school students' dynamic mathematical communication, findings indicate that students' mathematical communication reflect the new ways of engaging with mathematical representations when using a DGE. Hence, the communication becomes dynamic. Theoretically, the complexity of having "continuous" transformations of mathematical representations may reduce the readiness of the mathematical communication competency. The "continuous" transformation may in fact cause students to unintentionally ascribe dynamic properties to mathematical representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates how secondary school mathematics educators in the Nsukka Education Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria, perceive the incorporation of artificial intelligence-based ChatGPT into teaching mathematics. The study employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods strategy, starting with a systematic survey and followed by detailed interviews. The Mathematics Teachers' Awareness and Perceptions of AI-based ChatGPT Questionnaire (MTAPACQ) used in this study was adapted from an existing online survey and administered to 80 mathematics teachers, who were selected using stratified random sampling to ensure varied representation across different local government areas. The survey explored teachers' awareness, utilisation, and perceptions of ChatGPT. Following the quantitative phase, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of five teachers who were familiar with ChatGPT to gain deeper insights into their experiences. The findings indicate limited awareness of ChatGPT, with only 17% demonstrating familiarity with the technology. The infrequent utilisation of ChatGPT in mathematics teaching is mainly associated with this limited awareness. Teachers who integrate ChatGPT report positive outcomes, including improved teaching effectiveness, heightened student engagement, and enhanced comprehension of complex concepts. Nevertheless, the overall perceptions of the tool's impact on mathematics teaching and learning are moderate. The identified challenges in relation to integration include technical adaptability, curriculum alignment, and the need for customisation to accommodate diverse learning styles. This study emphasises the significance of continuous professional development and ongoing support for teachers to integrate AI-based ChatGPT into mathematics instruction proficiently. The insights derived from the findings hold value for educators, policymakers, and technology developers aspiring to elevate the role of artificial intelligence in mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is a constantly evolving field that encompasses various approaches to teaching and learning. In our paper, we focused on qualitative research conducted with future primary level teachers using a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) approach. The research involved classroom observation, analysis of the student work, and obtaining interpretations from the students via report protocols and focused interviews. We examined the students' learning and problem-solving strategies within STEAM-based activities as well as their perspectives on its use in primary education. Students participated in the research activity in two stages. In the first stage, further referred to as Activity 1, they followed a predetermined algorithm, instructions to construct an electronic device. The instructions for this device were developed to serve as a resource for primary education and to prepare the students for the second stage. In the second stage, further known as Activity 2, the students were tasked with creating a new electronic device together with providing the instructions. The new device was required to have a practical application. Following the completion of these activities, we collected and analyzed the procedural reflections and didactic interpretations from students. Within these interpretations, we also sought their opinions on how STEAM projects like these could help develop various aspects of STEAM competencies in children such as technical skills and knowledge, algorithmic thinking, and device architecture as well as mathematical and scientific thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a significant tool to integrate information technology and education, dynamic mathematical software (DMS) has been widely concerned in recent years. However, how to better apply it to instruction practice deserves further exploration. Thus, we adopted the meta-analysis method to analyze the DMS-based experiments published between 2000 and 2020. A three-level meta-analysis of data from 107 studies involving 10,507 participants and 138 effect sizes revealed a moderate effect size (d =.632, 95% CI = [.550,.713]). Moreover, moderator analyses showed that: (1) cultural background had significant moderating effects; (2) students performed better on near-transfer tests than far-transfer tests; (3) DMS used by students independently had better effects; (4) intervention duration had significant moderating effects; (5) some of the above significant moderating effects were unique after controlling for others. Overall, our findings suggest that DMS has positive effects on students' performance and teachers should be meticulous in designing their teaching plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to keep up with the developing student profile in this century, the competencies of teachers and pre-service teachers in technology should be increased; both groups should follow the new developments on the agenda and be up to date. The aim of this study is to examine the use of ChatGPT, one of the generative artificial intelligence tools, by pre-service mathematics teachers and to present a study. Pre-service mathematics teachers in the 4th grade at a state university were asked to prepare a lesson plan in accordance with the 5E learning model. The data of the study were collected by recording this process. The study is a qualitative study by nature. Case study design was used in the study. When the findings of the study were examined, it was concluded that the pre-service teachers made changes in the lesson plans presented by ChatGPT in the sections of duration, number of activities, type of activities, expansion/change in the stages of the method used, methods and techniques used in the lesson plan, integrating technology. When the data obtained during the study are analyzed, it is seen that pre-service teachers' competencies in using ChatGPT are not strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the geometric knowledge of student teachers from a university in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The study used a sample of 225 first-year student teachers who completed school mathematics baseline assessments on a computer-aided mathematics instruction (CAMI) software. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional research design, using quantitative data to measure student teachers’ geometry achievement level, and qualitative data to explain the challenges encountered. The results show that student teachers exhibited a low level of understanding of school-level geometry. The low achievement levels were linked to various factors, such as insufficient grasp of geometry concepts in their secondary school education, difficulty in remembering what was done years ago, low self-confidence, and lack of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills along with the limited time for the baseline tests. These results suggest that appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that student teachers acquire the necessary subject-matter knowledge to teach effectively in their future classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor maths skills are associated with negative outcomes throughout life, such as lower academic qualifications, decreased professional success and socio-economic results. Mathematical skills emerge continuously throughout childhood and those that children acquire in pre-school are crucial for activities that support analytical thinking, problem-solving and reasoning and argumentation skills. Many of these activities are related to motor skills, since certain cognitive and motor areas of the brain are activated simultaneously when solving maths problems. Of all motor skills, visuomotor integration skills have been documented as those that are most consistently positively and significantly associated with maths performance in pre-school children. These skills are influenced by visual perception (spatial and attention skills), fine motor coordination and gross motor skills. Early intervention can improve visuomotor integration skills in pre-school children. Of all skills that make up visuomotor integration, spatial skills, in addition to being the first skills to influence numerical knowledge and the recognition of geometric shapes, are also those skills that form part of the majority of programs and activities to be worked on with preschool children for the development of mathematical concepts. However, most intervention programs or activities to develop spatial skills are carried out in the classroom, usually through activities involving handling small objects. In this sense and given the significant association between visuomotor integration skills and gross motor skills, the main objective of this study was to list a set of activities to develop spatial skills, with a strong involvement of gross motor skills, in a classroom, playground or home context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across multiple countries the term "big ideas" of mathematics has become a construct advocated as important for teachers' mathematical knowledge. Indeed, several policy or position statement documents about math learning in the United States (U.S.) have stated that "big ideas" of math is a crucial construct for teacher knowledge. With this study we sought to determine if there was consistency about this "big idea" construct that teachers of mathematics in the U.S. are advised to know. To this end, we conducted a content analysis of resources for U.S. teachers of preschool through grade 12. We determined that few resources defined a big idea and those that did lacked agreement with each other. Although most resources delineating big ideas cited Charles (2005) as the basis of their use of the construct, our analysis of the actual big ideas in each resource revealed inconsistent implementation of Charles' theoretical perspective. Thus, to move research and practice forward by more precisely defining and prioritizing this abstract construct we (a) clarified a definition, (b) specified five criteria, and (c) constructed a scholar- and teacher-friendly framework: The Big Ideas Framework. This framework consists of three ordinal levels to distinguish and prioritize the importance of big ideas based on relative size and power: Mighty Mega Math Ideas, Power Math Ideas, and Strong Math Ideas. Moreover, the big ideas construct has focused on Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT), whereas we urge the field to shift its theoretical perspective to value the entire construct or at least the two most powerful levels of the framework as aspects of Common Content Knowledge. In other words, we urge teachers and mathematics teacher educators to foreground Mighty Mega Math Ideas and Power Math Ideas with P-12 students and families to empower those we serve. Furthermore, given the dearth of peer-reviewed research about big ideas, we encourage a new branch of scholarship to analyze the impact of the practical recommendations we offered here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-service courses for teachers are often provided by so called facilitators who function as teacher trainers and whose tasks in the education system are multifaceted. The professional development (PD) of facilitators is of great importance, and the complex process of scaling up might lead to unexpected constraints, and influence the effectiveness of a program. In general, more research is needed concerning facilitators' PD with respect to their different roles and functions. In this paper, a project will be presented that focused on qualifying facilitators for the topic "inclusive mathematics" and accompanied the process of scaling up. In the end, unexpectedly, five out of 15 facilitators did not finish the program. Therefore, the challenges and concrete reasons for dropout were investigated in detail. The paper will present a case analysis, where Facilitators' multifaceted roles, functions, and tasks emerged as the central category. Moreover, conclusions for professionalization programs and research will be derived and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lesson Study is a method of professional development for teachers that has gained traction in recent decades. However, publications routinely fail to describe crucial details of the implementation or to link the mechanisms that facilitate teachers learning in Lesson Study to theory. This makes it difficult to meaningfully synthesize and replicate research findings. Using a protocol based on three dimensions of transparency, this systematic review examines 129 articles on Lesson Study published between 2015 and 2020 to identify how transparent they were in their reporting of how teachers observed and reflected together. The findings indicate a lack of transparency across several dimensions of how the Lesson Study intervention is reported and highlight a current lack of theorization and coherence in the field. To address some of these issues, we propose a framing structure that empirical papers on Lesson Study should give critical attention to in order to ensure relevance and transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While enabling students to refer to and build on peer-produced work (termed 'citing' herein) during content creation appears pedagogically promising, its associated learning effects remain under-studied. This research aimed at examining the effects of online citing of peer-generated assessment items during student test-construction on promoting learning and task performance. Additionally, any negative effects this approach may have on inducing cognitive and emotional burdens were examined. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design was adopted, where two treatment groups were devised (i.e. the citing and no-citing groups). A group of fifth-graders from six classes participated in an 11-week study. Based on the results of the analysis of covariance, it was found that students in the citing group scored significantly higher than those in the no-citing group on academic achievement and question-generation performance. In addition, citing did not induce significantly higher cognitive load or learning anxiety as compared to the no-citing situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study, carried out in the context of a Teacher Professional Development (TPD) Program on mathematical modelling and digital technologies, focuses on how Italian mathematics teachers refer to digital technologies in designing their lessons and investigates to what extent the TPD program impacted the way by which teachers design their lessons using technologies. To this end, teachers' lesson plans in two different moments of the TPD program have been analysed using the TPACK model. The data shows that at the beginning of the TPD program, teachers used to design their lessons without referring to pedagogical aspects. This leads to argue that a teachers' belief seems to emerge, namely that knowing the features of digital technologies is sufficient to design teaching activities with technology in relation to specific mathematical contents. However, the TPD program appears to have had a positive impact on teachers' knowledge because, at the end of the program, they refer to a greater extent to pedagogical aspects (TPK and TPACK) in their design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of "pre-election sensitivity" in the UK political system, focusing on a specific case and the current Cabinet Office Guidance. It explains that during the pre-election period, politicians campaign for votes while the law remains unchanged, and those in government must continue to exercise their powers lawfully. The court determined that the convention of refraining from controversial decisions during this period, known as "purdah," is not a principle of law. The Cabinet Office Guidance provides instructions for civil servants to maintain political impartiality and avoid using government resources for party political purposes. While not legally binding, the guidance is enforced through opposition parties and the press. The article concludes by discussing the relationship between the guidance and constitutional law and the potential for future challenges. [Extracted from the article]

The global mobility and migration of teachers has affected the education environment worldwide. This study examines the professional transition of immigrant teachers and finds that teacher professional identity is a critical element in a complex process of professional transition. Using a qualitative inductive approach, this study reports on the professional transition experiences of ten teachers who migrated from Asia to Australia. Findings revealed that teachers' employment status, skills and knowledge, perceived social position, and beliefs and attitudes towards teaching are significant elements of teacher identity that either enable or inhibit immigrant teachers' professional transition. The findings relate to previous research and offer an enhanced understanding of how policymakers and educational leaders can support overseas teachers as they transition into schools within the Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to articles published within the issue is presented including the formation of supportive and inclusive school cultures, the evidence-informed classroom strategies, and the connection between pedagogy, curriculum, and culture in schools.

Education has always been significant for sustainable development all around the world. However, it is not possible to achieve development without considering the international standards in this globalized world. Countries can be successful only if they interact with other societies without losing their cultural identities. The European Union is an organisation that fosters cooperation and harmony among countries for development. In this context, it has identified four main areas and sixteen indicators for these areas in order to improve the quality of education. Being one of the candidate countries, Türkiye has declared will to harmonize with the educational policies suggested by the European Union. Therefore, the question of how compatible and competitive Türkiye's education system has become with international standards remains on the agenda in today's world of increasing international competition in every area. In this line, this study aims at analysing the current situation of Turkish education system according to four key indicators, which are mathematics, science, reading skills and foreign language. For this purpose, the study employs the method of document analysis. Therefore, we analysed PISA 2022 report and EF EPI (EF English Proficiency Index) 2023 report in this line. The study findings show that Türkiye ranks 39th with an average score of 453 in mathematics, 34th with an average score of 476 in science, and 36th with an average score of 456 in reading skills among 81 countries in PISA 2022. Also, Türkiye ranks 66th among 113 countries with an EF EPI score of 493 in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During puberty, children experience an increased need for autonomy in all areas of their lives, including school. However, teachers use different levels of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies, which might have detrimental effects on students' perceived competence and—building on self-determination theory—motivation to learn. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether students could buffer the negative impact of little perceived autonomy support in the English-language classroom on their perceived competence and, consequently, two motivational outcomes (grade aspirations, intrinsic motivation) by using non-academic English-language ICTs in their free time. We calculated several (moderated) mediation models with a Bayesian estimator, using data from N = 1288 Austrian secondary school students who answered three online questionnaires between May 2022 and April 2023. The results showed that perceived competence predicts both types of motivation and is influenced by students' use of non-academic English-language ICTs. However, the effects of autonomy-supportive teaching strategies depend on which variables are included in the models. Our study therefore highlights the importance of examining several aspects of autonomy-supportive teaching and including variables from outside the school to represent the complex environment in which students' motivation is shaped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School leaders have the potential to contribute to the collective efficacy of teachers by brokering knowledge and beliefs; however, they are not always supported or accompanied in this role. By examining the characteristics and network positions of key actors who broker knowledge and beliefs, this study explores opportunities for all educators to be accompanied. Using social network analysis to measure the centrality of educators, key actors were identified. The data were collected in schools across the province of Québec, Canada and revealed a dynamic form of distributed leadership that was not dependent on a single leader, but rather on the type of knowledge or beliefs being brokered. The findings suggest the importance of accompaniment for teachers and leaders of all experience levels and positions to foster collective teacher efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's knowledge-intensive and digital society, collaborative problem-solving (CPS) is considered a critical skill for students to develop. Moreover, international education research has embraced a new paradigm of communication-focused inquiry, and the commognitive theory helps enhance the understanding of CPS work. This paper aims to enhance the CPS skills by identifying, diagnosing, and visualizing commognitive conflicts during the CPS process, thereby fostering a learning-oriented innovative approach and even giving the script of technologyassisted feedback practices. Specifically, we utilized open-ended mathematical tasks and multi-camera video recordings to analyze the commognitive conflicts in CPS among 32 pairs, comprising 64 Year 7 students. After selecting the highquality, medium-quality, and low-quality student pairs based on the SOLO theory, further investigations were made in the discourse diagnosis and visual analysis for the knowledge dimensions of commognitive conflict. Finally, it was discovered that there is a need to encourage students to focus on and resolve commognitive conflicts while providing timely feedback. Visual studies of commognitive conflict can empower AI-assisted teaching, and the intelligent diagnosis and visual analysis of CPS provide innovative solutions for teaching feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]