Given the relationship between teacher beliefs and practices, it is critical to understand how pre-service teachers' past school experiences impact on their beliefs about teaching. There is a growing recognition of the influence of preservice teachers' prior mathematical experiences on their beliefs regarding mathematics instruction in the primary…

In this paper, we explore the challenges experienced by a group of Primary 5 to 6 (age 12-14) students as they engaged in a series of problem-solving tasks through block-based programming. The challenges were analysed according to a taxonomy focusing on the presence of computational thinking (CT) elements in mathematics contexts: preparing…

This paper documents the process and outcome of the development and validation of a coding scheme to analyse mathematics classroom discourse in the context of Hong Kong primary schools. The objective of this coding scheme was to systematically analyse teacher discourse behaviours before and after an intervention programme; the programme aimed to…

To promote computational thinking in mathematics education, Scratch is used to foster students' computational thinking and mathematical understanding. However, students face challenges in block-based programming environments, such as having low motivation, high anxiety, and cognitive loads. This study combined the pedagogical values of Geogebra…

The relation to operands (RO) principles describe the relation between operands and answers in arithmetic problems (e.g., the sum is always larger than its positive addends). Despite being a fundamental property of arithmetic, its empirical relation with arithmetic/algebraic problem solving has seldom been investigated. The current longitudinal…

Purpose: In this article, we explore how student authorship may be enhanced among learners in mathematics classrooms in a Hong Kong primary school through rich dialogue discourse. Design/Approach/Methods: Using qualitative methods, that is, coding and discourse analysis, we examine the relationship between student authorship and personal latitude…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to illuminate the perceptions of the essential factors for sustaining Learning Study of the curriculum leaders who have led Learning Study in schools over a sustained period. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a case study research approach to explore the perspectives of the curriculum leaders…

This paper reports an intervention study in the teaching of fraction concepts at a village school in Hong Kong. The classes consisted of 60 Grade three students with different cultural backgrounds, including African, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Nepalese, and Pakistani. The study represents one of the relatively few studies that investigate the…

One hundred sixty-five Hong Kong Chinese children were administered measures of early mathematics, visual-spatial skills, and executive functioning (working memory, inhibition, shifting, updating) once in kindergarten (mean age = 62.80 months, SD = 3.74) and again in first grade (mean age = 77.25 months, SD = 4.60). In kindergarten, visual-spatial…

Textbooks play an important part in teaching and learning mathematics. However, textbook research on spatial ability has so far received little attention. In this study, we investigated whether school mathematics textbooks provide enough opportunities for primary students to learn three-dimensional shapes and help them acquire spatial ability.…

GeoGebra is a mathematics software system that can serve as a tool for inquiry-based learning. This paper deals with the application of a fraction comparison software, which is constructed by GeoGebra, for use in a dynamic mathematics environment. The corresponding teaching and learning issues have also been discussed.

This study examines how teachers' discourse moves influence patterns of authority in the mathematics classroom. We identify changes in authority structure in one classroom taught by a primary mathematics teacher in Hong Kong. This teacher participant was one of 32 who participated in a larger teacher-intervention study that aimed to help teachers…

It has become increasingly recognized that what teachers and students value affect teaching and learning in general and in the area of mathematics in particular. Yet, the extent to which this is so varies across cultural regions. In recent years, how the ethnic Chinese teach and learn mathematics has attracted much attention worldwide. It is…

In this research, the authors raised the issue that prior studies had failed to address the nested structure of data in examining the construct validity of an instrument measuring students' behavioral and emotional participation in academic activities in the classroom. To address this question, the authors illustrated the utility of the multilevel…

Arithmetic word-problem solving is an important component of elementary mathematics curricula that links school mathematics to real-life problem solving. The present 3-year longitudinal study examined children's arithmetic word-problem solving through understanding its 2 component processes: number-sentence construction and computation. Chinese…