This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program--Developing Mathematical Thinking--on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional…

Mathematics is the study of structure but students think of math as solving problems according to rules. Students can learn procedures, but they often have trouble knowing when to apply learned procedures, especially to problems unlike those they trained with. In this study, the authors rely on the psychological mechanism of perceptual learning…

Fall term of 2006, a web-assisted undergraduate mathematics course was taught at the University of Idaho: Math 235 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I. The course goals were: To foster a deep understanding of critical mathematical content; and to promote the development of mathematical communication and collaboration concepts, skills, and…

This course of study guide is designed to help teachers establish a continuity within the scope and sequence of their elementary school mathematics curriculum and to assist those teachers in formulating some realistic goals for themselves and their students. This guide delineates content requirements needed to satisfy K-8 proficiency expectations…

THIS CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR ALL GRADES OF PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUCTION IS INTENDED TO ASSIST LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN DESIGNING AN ADEQUATE MATHEMATICS PROGRAM THAT REFLECTS THE MODERN APPROACH. THE GUIDE PRESCRIBES A PROGRAM WHICH IS SUFFICIENTLY FLEXIBLE TO BE USED BY LARGE DISTRICTS HAVING A COMPLETE THREE-TRACK MATHEMATICS PROGRAM WITH FIVE YEARS…

Every child who enters a school system brings a different level of language mastery with which to recognize and express a different background of experience. This study examined the development of mathematical understanding and tested the efficacy of direct teaching to the target concepts. Two very similar districts in rural Idaho were selected.…

This guide is organized around a list of skills that all students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through sixth grade. It provides parents, teachers, and students with knowledge of what is being taught in a logical scope and sequence by grade level. The purpose of this guide is to help build a basis for…

The history of competency testing and legal issues related to it are reviewed briefly in light of the responsibility of school districts for providing remediation programs for students who have failed the test. The mathematics competencies of the state of Idaho are identified and keyed to four sets of readily available, secondary level Apple…

This document was designed to help Idaho schools with their development of a K-12 mathematics curriculum and program, and to assist in formulating some realistic goals for themselves and their students. The bulk of the document contains mathematics education standards for each of the grades K-8 and for grades 9-12 as a unit and includes goals,…

A project undertaken by the Snake River School District, Blackfoot, Idaho provided children with an educational experience geared to their individual needs. The project was designed to assure that they made continuous progress in subject matter areas such as reading and math and toward the development of a positive self-concept. A team leader,…