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There is a consensus that numeracy is important for students to develop logical thinking and reasoning strategies in their everyday activities. As a result, teachers are encouraged to design numeracy rich tasks that incorporate real-life contexts across non-mathematics curriculum areas. However, it is not clear what types of knowledge teachers require to design such tasks. In this study, the authors used the stepwise generalization method and developed a framework for the knowledge required by teachers to design numeracy rich tasks across non-mathematics curriculum areas. The study begins with a brief introduction to numeracy and its definition in various contexts. The nature of knowledge required to design numeracy rich tasks (mathematics content knowledge, a non-mathematics curriculum area knowledge, activity design skills and knowledge of context)) are further described. In the later section of the study, each element of teacher knowledge and the framework to design numeracy rich tasks across non-mathematics curriculum areas are described. The knowledge framework developed in this study can be used to analyze teachers designed numeracy-rich tasks and identify their professional learning requirements.

The challenge addressed in this study is how the effectiveness of Padlet, Panopto video-embedded quizzes and Google Docs can be evaluated in terms of student engagement. Using a range of data sources, we discussed whether each technology influenced various dimensions of student engagement. The study found that certain technologies improved students' behavioral and cognitive engagement and they provided students with flexible opportunities for social, collaborative and emotional engagement. By enhancing the online opportunities for behavioral, cognitive and interpersonal engagement, specific technologies helped engage students with what and how they were learning. It concludes with further recommendations aimed toward the intentional use of technology for improving students' online learning engagement.

In this study, we examine children's National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) achievement predictors, which may enable or limit their numeracy performance and assess the relative importance of the predictor variables. Our data source was the NAPLAN numeracy results of Queensland schools from 2014 to 2017. Years 3 and 5 children's NAPLAN numeracy scores were analysed using a hierarchical multiple regression model. We examined eight variables grouped into four themes to determine their predictive value for children's numeracy performance in NAPLAN. Findings from this study indicate that parent's educational level, parent's occupation and indigenous status variables accounted for 10-11% of the total variance, while geolocation and sector type contributed an additional 0.2-0.4% of the variance. Gender and language background other than English (LBOTE) contributed 0.1-0.4% of the variance. These results were consistent across levels (Years 3 and 5) and test years (2014-2017). When these predictors were controlled, the influence of parent's post-school education and LBOTE status were less and non-significant. Previous NAPLAN numeracy results for Year 5 children were found to be very large in its predictive value (R[superscript 2] = 0.50). The implications of these results for teachers, parents and researchers are described.

Using the concept of a developmental lens (Brighton, 2007; Caskey & Anfara, 2014; Davis, 2006; J-F, Pullen, & Carroll, 2013; National Middle School Association, 2010; Peterson, 2010), this article focuses on young teenage students' perceptions of teachers. School teachers play an important role in the educational development of teenagers but little is known about how teachers cater for teenage students' social, emotional, physical and cognitive developmental domains. Even less is known about teenage students' perceptions of their teachers. The current study asked a cohort of Year 9 students in a secondary school in Brisbane, Australia (N=182) to comment on what they "liked" about their teachers. The students' responses were mapped against each of the four developmental domains. Analysis of the data showed that students' emotional and social domains were more salient than their physical and cognitive domains. Specifically, the young teenage students reported liking their teachers when the teachers' were emotionally positive and socially accommodating. The findings of this paper are discussed via a developmental lens with regard to the implications for teacher education.

Fractions are perceived as one of the most difficult areas in school mathematics to learn and teach. The most frequently mentioned factors contributing to the complexity are fractions having five interrelated constructs (part-whole, ratio, operator, quotient and measure) and teachers' pedagogical approaches to address these constructs. The present study used the five interrelated constructs of fraction and the Knowledge Quartet Framework to investigate a teacher's teaching of fraction in a New Zealand Year 7 classroom. Video recordings and transcribed audio-recordings were analysed through the lenses of the five integrated constructs of fraction and the Knowledge Quartet Framework. The findings showed that students often initiated uses of fractions as quotient and as operator, drawing on part-whole understanding when solving fraction problems. The study showed that the teacher's focus in connecting the constructs and procedures of the lesson as well as shaping the classroom discussion when the lesson unfolded supported students' learning of the fraction constructs.

The present study demonstrated the importance and procedures of learners and learning context analysis to design a context-driven professional development program to effectively use of technology in mathematics classrooms. The study was conducted at departments of mathematics in two Colleges of Teacher Education using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. The data were collected from 16 mathematics teacher educators through a questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations and focus group discussions. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of quantitative data and theme grouping of the qualitative data. The study showed that analyses of the learning context and teacher educators' context were essential to design a context-driven professional development program containing relevant examples, contents, and scenarios for teachers. The findings of this study can provide a more practical approach and a model that could be adopted for studies aimed at designing a context-driven professional development program and influencing practices.

Background: A key aim of educational research is for findings to inform practice, thereby bringing about improvements in teaching and learning. However, the relationship between research and practice is complex, and there is often no clear link between changes in practice and research findings. One of the challenges for research and practice is breaking down barriers and finding effective and sustainable ways to translate research findings into practical solutions in the classroom. Purpose: This discursive paper focuses on describing the nature of the partnership working involved when a design-based research (DBR) approach was employed to bring researchers and practitioners together. The researchers and practitioners worked in collaboration to design a professional development (PD) programme, in order to solve classroom problems and enhance practitioners' research engagement. Sources of evidence: This paper describes the author's experience of using DBR to co-design a PD programme that was responsive to a particular context and practitioners' needs. It illustrates and exemplifies the ways in which the researcher-practitioner collaboration itself sits at the heart of the design process and enabled solutions to be found. The paper also considers the epistemological positions of the practitioners and researchers in the different stages of DBR. The context for the description is a mixed-methods intervention study conducted in two colleges of teacher education, which documented the design and refinement of a PD programme to facilitate teachers' effective use of technology to teach mathematics. Discussion and conclusions: The examples presented and discussed here suggest how a DBR process is able to facilitate fruitful collaborations between researchers and practitioners and increase engagement in research. By working with practitioners to design interventions such as PD programmes, DBR can provide a practical approach for improving practice and deepening the relationship between educational research and classroom practice.

Digital technology literacy, attitude, efficacy, and online engagement are important for effective teaching in a contemporary world. This study examines the connections between pre-service teachers’ (PST) self-assessed digital technology literacy, attitudes, self-efficacy, and engagement in online learning. It also explores how these aspects relate to their gender, age, and learning mode. A total of 110 first year PSTs responded to an online survey consisting of Likert scale questions and demographic information. These PSTs can access various study options, including online, on-campus, and a mixture of both. First, a series of one-way analyses of variance was conducted to evaluate the relationship between age range, gender, mode of study and the different constructs. Next, Post Hoc tests were conducted to evaluate pairwise differences among the significant means. The study found significant differences in PSTs’ digital literacy based on gender, attitude, and engagement in online learning. It suggests that teacher education should adopt tailored strategies to address these technology skill gaps. Personalised support for PSTs could improve their digital literacy and confidence in using technology for teaching. The implications for course and programme design in teacher education are also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technological pedagogical content knowledge framework is increasingly in use by educational technology researcher as a generic description of the knowledge requirements for teachers using technology in all subjects. This study describes the development of a mathematics specific variety of the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework. The paper showed how a particular conception of the knowledge required to teach mathematics can be integrated with the technological pedagogical content knowledge framework as the basis for understanding technology integrated mathematics teaching. The resulting framework provides a sharper lens than the generic technological pedagogical content knowledge framework alone and a better understanding of the knowledge required for teachers of mathematics to use technology in their teaching. The study illustrated how the framework may be useful for analysing the knowledge demands of particular mathematics teaching tasks, and for planning appropriate professional development for integrating technology in the teaching of mathematics.

In Ethiopia, primary school teachers of science and mathematics are encouraged to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into their teaching as a means to improve the quality of education. However, there has not been the same emphasis placed on providing professional learning opportunities for teachers on how to use ICT in their teaching. The present study investigated how a group of practising primary school science and mathematics teachers developed the skills needed to integrate ICT into their teaching. The study employed a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods within an action research approach. The teachers took part in activities from a Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) based professional learning workshop, including designing lessons, classroom instruction, and reflection activities in teams. A lesson evaluation sheet, questionnaire, observation checklist, and logbook were used to gather data. The results showed that the teachers acquired an improved competency to integrate available ICT into their teaching through the intervention activities.

The development of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) practices with young children from birth to eight years is an emerging area in academic and professional literature. ECEfS practices reflect growing awareness of the imperative for twenty-first century societies to respond to the pressures of unsustainable patterns of living. This article contributes to the growing area of ECEfS research by exploring sustainability conceptualisations and practice initiatives as reported by early childhood teachers, educators, pre-service educators and parents in Tasmania. We do this by analysing data collected from participants who attended ECEfS professional learning workshops, entitled "Living and learning about sustainability in the early years." Findings show that environmental (nature/natural) aspects of sustainability dominate these adults' practice initiatives and understandings. While many of the reported educational initiatives are to be celebrated, the authors contend that there is much work to be done to extend thinking and practice beyond the natural/environmental dimension in order to embrace holistic notions of sustainability incorporating social, economic and political dimensions.

In recent times, Australia has recognised and enacted a range of initiatives at service, system and community levels that seek to embed sustainability into the early childhood sector. This paper explores the impact of a professional development (PD) session that provided opportunities for early childhood educators to learn and share ideas about the theory and practice of sustainability generally and early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) specifically. The PD was entitled "Living and Learning about Sustainability in the Early Years" and was offered on three occasions across Tasmania. A total of 99 participants attended the three PD sessions (one 5 hour; two 2 hour). The participants had varying levels of experience and included early childhood teachers, centre based educators and preservice teachers. At the start and end of the PD, participants were invited to complete a questionnaire that contained a series of likert scale questions that explored their content knowledge, level of understanding and confidence in regards to ECEfS. Participants were also asked at the start and end of the PD to "list five words you think of when you consider the word sustainability." A model of teacher professional growth was used to conceptualise the results related to the changes in knowledge, understanding and confidence (personal domain) as a result of the PD related to ECEfS (external domain). The likert-scale questions on the questionnaire revealed significant positive changes in levels of knowledge, understanding and confidence from the start to the end of the PD. Differences as a function of length of PD, level of experience and role are presented and discussed. The "5 words" question showed that participants widened their understandings of ECEfS from a narrow environmental focus to a broader understanding of the social, political and economic dimensions. The early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector has been characterised as having a pedagogical advantage for EfS suggesting that early childhood educators are well placed to engage with EfS more readily than might educators in other education sectors. This article argues that PD is necessary to develop capability in educators in order to meet the imperatives around sustainability outlined in educational policy and curriculum documents in ECEC.