Task selection is a critical element of mathematics teaching because mathematical tasks differ in the mathematical opportunities made available to students. Thus, it is important to examine both the tasks that PSTs chose and why they were chosen. This study examines the task selection of 10 pre-service teachers (PSTs) in a middle grades…

With the goal of investigating social construction of mathematics, analysis of classroom discourse is presented from the theoretical perspective of Distributed Cognition and the methodological perspective of cognitive micro-ethnography (Hutchins, 1995a, 2001). Twenty-nine students from two accelerated, sixth-grade mathematics classes were observed…

In this article, the authors present an inquiry activity presented to Year 7 students in a mathematics excellence class at a P-12 school in regional Queensland. Different students solved the activity (comparing the sugar content of fruit) using decimals, percentages, ratio and rates. By asking the students to solve a problem they were much more…

The pandemic has not only increased economic inequities within various communities, but it has also exacerbated the social, emotional, and math achievement inequities of middle school students, creating an environment that increases the potential for heightened anxiety and peer conflict. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that educators not…

It is widely understood that people's perceptions of themselves and tasks influence their engagement and effort. Further, these relationships are often viewed as the purview of the individual. In contrast, research on human development has documented the influences of participation in multiple (often overlapping) contexts on individual…

Following the emergence of chatbots, especially ChatGPT, researchers have begun to examine their capabilities, credibility, and reliability in educational context. In this study, ChatGPT and Google Gemini are used as technological tools to create 7th-grade lesson plans for mathematics, science, literature, and social studies classes. Using…

In this article, we situate the relatively new wave of technology-enabled personalized learning platforms within the broader policy context of institutional accountability. Although many education technology innovations were developed in response to heightened accountability pressures, technology-enabled personalization introduces new…

The purpose of this development research is to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of using Powtoon animation learning media for flat-sided geometry. The development model used is the ADDIE model. The subjects of this study were students of class VIII-2 MTsS Syamsuddhuha ("junior high religious school"). The percentage results of…

This article focuses specifically on the inclusion of meaningful (but potentially messy) real-world mathematics tasks in the middle school classroom. Real-world tasks provide students with learning opportunities allowing mathematics to be used to understand the world, strengthen mathematical knowledge, and offer opportunities for students to use…

Middle school students are faced with a number of mathematical concepts that require new forms of reasoning. Although the shifts toward proportional and algebraic reasoning are often emphasized in middle school curricula, changes in the nature of geometric reasoning are not always given the same weight. As highlighted in "Catalyzing Change in…

Dude Perfect has one of the most popular YouTube channels in the United States. The task in this article is one of several activities the author has integrated into mathematics lessons in ways that engage students and that are connected to Dude Perfect videos (Stohlmann 2019). The author describes how he planned and implemented purposeful…

The relationship between teacher interventions and students' mathematical thinking has been the subject of inquiry for quite some time. Using the Pirie-Kieren theory for dynamic growth in mathematical understanding, this study documents teacher interventions that support students' growth toward developing a general understanding of a mathematical…

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with Questar Assessment Inc. (Questar) for the development of the 2020 Grades 3-8 Mathematics Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2020 Grades 6-8…

This qualitative multiple case study explores the collaborations between three STEM middle school teachers and three STEM undergraduate mentors of color in an urban school district. Drawing on sociocultural theories and literature on culturally relevant education, we used a comparative thematic approach to explore how mentors contributed to…

In this synthesis, we analyzed 10 prealgebraic reasoning interventions for students with mathematics difficulty (MD) in Grades 6 through 8. All interventions focused on one or more prealgebraic concepts including integer operations, algebraic expressions and equations, and functions. Of the 10 intervention studies, six employed single-case design…