The purpose of this study is to examine how proportional reasoning is introduced and developed in two widely used U.S. and Korean mathematics textbooks for grades 6-7. Seven research-based frameworks that identify student learning opportunities for understanding of proportional reasoning were used to analyze the textbooks. The results showed that…

The goal of the study was to compare how visual representations were integrated into the contents of the U.S. and Turkish textbooks used in life science. Data was collected from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade middle school topics common to both countries. Content analysis was used to analyse visual representations in textbooks. The visual representations…

This study analyzed geometry problems in four middle-grade mathematics textbook series from Taiwan, Singapore, Finland, and the United States, while exploring the expectations for students' learning experiences with these problems. An analytical framework developed for mathematics textbook problem analysis had three dimensions: representation…

The purpose of this study was to compare 6th grade Turkish, Singapore, and American mathematics textbooks in terms of certain features of textbook design. Textbooks were compared based on their visual design, text density, internal organization, weights of curriculum strands, topics covered, and content presentation. The results revealed varied…

This study is to investigate the effectiveness of using mobile devices such as iPhone/iPad/android phone/tablet to facilitate mobile learning in aural skills. The application "Auralbook" was designed in 2011 by an engineer/musician to use mobile devices to learn aural skills. This application enables students to sing, record, clap and…

This research examined the presentation of fractions in textbooks used by fifth and sixth graders in Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States. The specific textbooks examined were "My Pals Are Here! Maths" (MPHM) in Singapore; "Kung Hsung" (KH) in Taiwan; and "Mathematics in Context" (MiC) in the USA. Results show the…

The New Social Studies movement was an effort by social scientists to reform US social studies/history curriculum at all levels during the 1960s and early 1970s. In the end, more than 50 different projects attempting to revitalise social studies were developed. Many of the projects focused on inquiry-based teaching practices and curriculum.…

This dissertation presents two studies designed to examine the topic of fraction division in selected Chinese and US curricula. By comparing the structure and content of the Chinese and "Everyday Mathematics" textbooks and teacher's guides, Study 1 revealed many different features presented in the selected curricula. Major differences…

Teachers and researchers have long recognized that students tend to misunderstand the equal sign as an operator; that is, a signal for "doing something" rather than a relational symbol of equivalence or quantity sameness. Students' equal sign misconception has been researched for more than thirty years (Weaver, 1971, 1973) with little…

This study reports findings from comparative samples of sixth-grade Chinese and U.S. students' interpretations of the equal sign. Ninety-eight percent of the Chinese sample correctly answered 4 items indicating conceptions of equality and provided conceptually accurate explanations. In contrast, only 28% of the U.S. sample performed at this level.…

Preparing children to become citizens of a democracy requires recognition of the different ways in which children learn about politics. Kids in the United States currently spend most of their lives in controlled situations such as schools where the dependency they experience in their homes is reinforced. Besides teachers--books, films, television,…