Both in New Zealand and internationally, there has been a focus on the use of differentiation in mathematics instruction to raise achievement levels and provide equitable outcomes. New Zealand has a long history of the use of ability grouping to provide differentiation. Recently, this practice has been challenged in a large scale professional…

In this position paper, we review the practice of differentiation -- a universal concept aimed to support diverse students in our classrooms. In exposing the wide-ranging practices of differentiated instruction, and critiques of current implementation, we argue that differentiation in the mathematics classroom needs to be reframed in terms of a…

There is increasing recognition that the underachievement of Maori, Pasifika, and other diverse students in New Zealand schools is in large part owing to systemic factors that disadvantage these students. Responding to the urgent need for significant change in our schools and classrooms, the developing mathematical inquiry communities model is a…

In many Western countries, there has been an emphasis on ways in which to support teachers to shift practice from traditional mathematics instruction to inquiry-based classrooms. As a form of professional learning and development, lesson study offers the potential for teachers to develop their ability to respond to students' thinking through…

Teachers' perceptions of students' capabilities are particularly important in efforts to support ambitious instructional reforms. In this paper, we explore one teacher's efforts to resolve conflicts and tensions as she engages with new practices associated with ambitious mathematics teaching. While many conflicts arose in the first year of the…

While there is widespread agreement that "all" learners of the 21st century need to be numerate and literate, reforming pedagogical practices to achieve such an outcome is challenging for many teachers. This is a report of one aspect of a project which aims to integrate a culturally responsive pedagogical mathematics practice within…

In recent years there have been calls for ambitious mathematics teaching which places student thinking and reasoning at the centre of instruction. Drawing on a larger study concerning implementation of practice-based pedagogies within our initial teacher education mathematics programme, this paper examines the range of opportunities for…

This paper adds to a discussion initiated by Askew (2007) about two contrasting views of scaffolding; as a "tool for results" and a "tool-and-result". The wider study the article is drawn from took place in four primary classrooms with Pasifika students within a low socioeconomic setting. Two classroom episodes drawn from one…