The development of proofs and argumentation is one of the major standards for mathematical practices in K-12 education that researchers and practitioners alike are continuing to improve. Further, the use of discourse is considered essential in the learning of mathematical concepts at these levels. However, K-12 educators continue to confound how…

Making connections during math instruction is a recommended practice, but may increase the difficulty of the lesson. We used an avatar video instructor to qualitatively examine the role of linking multiple representations for 24 middle school students learning algebra. Students were taught how to solve polynomial multiplication problems, such as…

We integrated science, mathematics, and literacy through engineering design in professional development with 24 in-service middle school math and science teachers in rural Appalachia. Participants experienced engineering design as learners, developed lesson plans utilizing engineering design, and received pedagogical and content coaching.…

The purpose of our study was to examine mentors' conceptualization of mentoring in a residency program. By examining mentors' conceptualization of mentoring in such a context, our findings reflected four main themes: (a) professional transmission, (b) extant knowledge, (c) reciprocal learning, and (d) self-improvement (via external presence). Our…

Recent trends in education have emphasized the importance of customizing education for learners (Collins and Halverson, 2009). The current paper aims to explore the effects of one factor that can play an important role in customizing education: curiosity (Luce and Hsi, 2015). We explore how students express curiosity within design learning…

Writing is a critical tool for developing thinking and communicating ideas. However, only about a third of students across grades 4, 8 and 12 meet standards for proficient writing (NCES, 2011). While writing generally has long been a neglected area of curricula, this is especially the case with argument writing. The proposed presentation describes…

Despite the technological development, the digital era, and the fact that Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) permeates all the modern world, the number of students choosing to pursue a career in STEM areas is very small in comparison to other careers. In particular, considering the gender, the gap increases even more. In this…

This study examines secondary mathematics and science teacher perceptions of teacher leadership during the first year of a professional development program focused on preparing teacher leaders in rural schools. It also begins to offer details as to what content-focused teacher leadership looks like and how teachers in rural schools enact teacher…

This study examines teachers' initial conceptions of an integrated STEM-PBL approach and their perceptions of what facilitates or hinders implementation in their schools. This study took place within the first year of a three-year STEM Professional Development (PD) program for middle school math, science and English language arts teachers. The two…

Building upon the work of Zieffler, Garfield, DelMas and Reading (2008) and others, we developed a framework for assessing informal inferential tasks in middle school mathematics textbooks. The framework both embodies the key recommendations for developing informal inferential reasoning and captures common trimming attributes, which lower the…

It is difficult to explore and understand how student knowledge develops with regard to complex systems, such as ecosystems. This study proposes the use of a Knowledge in Pieces(KiP) framework to analyze student knowledge and development in the domain of life sciences. The aim was to utilize quantitative and qualitative analyses of student…

This work investigates in how far gamification and micro-learning, implemented by the novel technologies H5P and xAPI, are suitable to increase the motivation and learning performance of pupils with cognitive and behavioral challenges. The context for the field trials is the Norwegian SOL framework (short for Systematic Observation of Reading) in…

Researchers have highlighted how tracking learners' eye-gaze can reveal their reading behaviors and strategies, and this provides a framework for developing personalized feedback to improve learning and problem solving skills. In this paper, we describe analyses of eye-gaze data collected from 16 middle school students who worked with Betty's…

Using memorized rules and algorithms without coherence and understanding is a perennial problem for teachers and students especially in the teaching and learning of fraction operations. I present data in which prospective middle school teachers explain a commonly used rule for fraction division--keep-change-flip. I argue that using both strip…

This paper reports on the design and outcomes of a story-enhanced game intended to improve middle school age girls' understanding of data representation and their engagement in learning. Findings indicate the effectiveness of the game but raise further questions about the role of story in games to teach computer science concepts.