A key challenge in implementing inquiry-based learning in mathematics has been raising teachers' confidence and skills with unfamiliar pedagogical practices. The nature of inquiry in particular challenges traditional notions of teaching mathematics that dominate the field. Few studies have explored how teachers' perceptions of the nature of…

Mastery of mathematical literacy is essential for developing life skills in the 21st century. Mathematical literacy is even more critical in elementary schools as it forms the basis for mastery at the junior and senior high school levels. Elementary school students differ in their characteristics from students at the higher education level. They,…

Can You Build It? is an engaging Improve It! task that asks children to construct 3D shapes based on 2D depictions. Students' initial 3D creations often need revision, and as they build and re-build, they develop spatial relationships. This task was implemented in a first-grade class, connected to composing 3D geometric shapes to address the…

This sequential explanatory mixed methods study explores elementary mathematics teachers' perceptions regarding their mathematical self-efficacy, how teachers describe their perceptions about their prior mathematical learning experiences and their impact on their instructional practice in the elementary mathematics classroom. In support of this…

Barlow et al. (2018) discussed three types of mistakes worthy of inspection: procedural errors, inappropriate solution processes, and misconceptions. Here, the authors focus on procedural errors, as these often led the teachers in their professional development project to limit their inspection of mistakes to correcting. Despite this narrow focus,…

In this case study, the researcher examines how three elementary teachers, all certified by their school district in culturally responsive teaching (CRT) through professional development (PD) opportunities, implement CRT in mathematics. The study was designed to understand 1) the CRT certification process and structures that were intended to…

Reimagining elementary mathematics pedagogy using a three-step process--See It, Say It, Symbolize It--author Patrick L. Sullivan provides a guide for developing a dynamic and flexible understanding of numbers and operations. By helping students develop a language that is consistent across concepts and connecting it to what is seen and symbolized,…

This study introduces a framework for analyzing opportunities for mathematical reasoning (MR) in school mathematics, using MR-relevant claims and their derivation as the unit of analysis. We contend that this approach can effectively capture a broad range of opportunities for MR across various teaching situations. The framework, rooted in…

Interleaved practice combined with comparison prompts can better foster students' adaptive use of subtraction strategies compared to blocked practice. It has not been previously investigated whether all students benefit equally from these teaching approaches. While interleaving subtraction tasks prompts students' attention to the different task…

The exploration of children's drawings as mathematical representations is a current focus in early years mathematics education research. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of 72 kindergarten to Grade 3 (5 to 8 years old) children's drawings produced during problem-solving tasks centred on multiplicative strategies. Existing frameworks for…

Preservice elementary teachers' attitudes towards mathematics are often negatively influenced by their K-12 education. Accordingly, teacher educators must allow preservice elementary teachers to experience mathematical instruction differently to change their attitudes toward mathematics and their conceptions about what it means to teach and learn…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to describe the associations between the specific Central Florida district's final instructional summative evaluation scores and student achievement scores for Grade 4 instructional staff teaching ELA or mathematics within the district for the school year 2017-2018. The self-determination…

Scholars suggest that culturally responsive instructional supervision (CRIS) is an important component of equitable teaching practices in schools. This fictional case study details the experiences of a fifth-grade team who, along with their principal and their instructional coach, perform a discourse analysis of their own mathematics lessons to…

This article contributes to the larger narrative around what makes a mathematics professional development (PD) successful and in what ways. We share a research-based PD model that was implemented in elementary schools in an urban school district for 3 years. The model uses a pseudo lesson study approach and emphasizes standards-based instruction.…

With student-centered, hands-on approaches to real-world problems, integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) curricula have the potential to engage students more authentically in multi-disciplinary learning and to learn mathematics more deeply. However, researchers have shown concern that the "M" is often a silent…