I have moved!!!

The headline of this post is not completely correct, since it is really not a matter of me having moved personally. The thing is, however, that this blog - The Mathematics Education Research Blog - has now moved to a different place! I have been considering this for quite some time actually, and I have now decided to move the blog to a Wordpress platform. Reasons for this decision are many, I guess, but here are the two most important reasons:

1. Wordpress is a very flexible blogging platform (even more so than Blogger)!
2. And I needed some change myself too...

There has also been a long process during some very busy months this Spring, where I have spent some time discussing with myself whether or not to continue working on this blog or not. I have come to a decision, and I will keep on blogging, but in a different place, and I hope that I will (gradually) be able to change and hopefully also improve the blog. In the two-year phase, the main purpose of the blog was for it to be useful to me. To me, this is still an important reason to blog! In the future, however, I also want the blog to become more useful to you as a reader. If you want to know how, you have no other choice but to update your bookmarks and start following my "new" blog over at: http://mathedresearch.wordpress.com :-)

First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education

The First Sourcebook on Nordic Research in Mathematics Education is going to be released in July this year, and I have been given the opportunity by the main editor, Professor Bharath Sriraman, to publish the cover photo and the table of contents first, here on this blog!

Being the first one to provide this news is of course great, and I guess that I am also enthusiastic about the book because I am one of the authors. The main reason why I am really enthusiastic about this book, however, is that it is going to be a monumental documentation of Nordic research and contributions to the field of mathematics education research. Putting together a book like this is a feature in itself, and I tip my hat to Bharath and the co-editors for this effort! I am happy that I have been able to be a part of it, and I am looking forward to digging into it! And I am quite certain that the hopes, which are expressed by the main editor in the foreword, are going to become true when it comes to this book. It will be "of use to many generations of mathematics education researchers inside and outside the Nordic world" (p. xii).

So, keep an eye on the publisher's website at http://www.infoagepub.com/products/First-Sourcebook-Nordic-Research-Mathematics-Education to make sure you don't miss the release date! And, in the meantime you can build your expectations by reading the table of contents as well as the foreword below:

TheFirstNordicSourcebook_TOC

New issue of Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education

A new issue of Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education has been published (See SpringerLink - Journal Issue). The issue contains five interesting articles, all of them with a strong focus on inquiry:

The challenge in developing in mathematics teachers an inquiry stance to teaching, by Peter Sullivan.

Collaborative teacher inquiry as a tool for building theory on the development and use of rich mathematical tasks, by David Slavit and Tamara Holmlund Nelson.

The effect of video-based approach on prospective teachers' ability to analyze mathematics teaching, by Othman N. Alsawaie and Iman M. Alghazo.

Learning to teach mathematics through inquiry: a focus on the relationship between describing and enacting inquiry-oriented teaching, by Jo Towers.

Conceptions of effective mathematics teaching within a cultural context: perspectives of teachers from China and the United States, by Jinfa Cai and Tao Wang.

Theories of Mathematics Education - Recommendations from Reuben Hersh

"Theories of Mathematics Education: Seeking new frontiers" is the first book in the series: Advances in Mathematics Education. The book was published a while ago, and it has already received good reviews and recommendations. The last in line to recommend the book is Reuben Hersh, and he has some very positive things to say about it:

A very impressive new book, "Theories of Mathematics Education" (Springer) edited by Sriraman and English is meant to inaugurate a new series, "Advances in Mathematics Education" . This first book in the series is a massive and ambitious undertaking, a very wide-ranging survey written in a dialogic format. (See this link for more!)

JMTE, April 2010

The April issue of Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education has recently been published. This issue contains 6 interesting articles:

• Crossing the divide: reflecting on the benefits of international collaboration, by Anne D. Cockburn
• Secondary mathematics cooperating teachers’ perceptions of the purpose of student teaching, by Keith R. Leatham and Blake E. Peterson
• Analyzing and attempting to overcome prospective teachers’ difficulties during problem-solving instruction, by Alexander Karp
• Developing teachers’ knowledge of students as learners of mathematics through structured interviews, by Oliver F. Jenkins
• The influence of video clubs on teachers’ thinking and practice, by Elizabeth A. van Es and Miriam Gamoran Sherin
• Prospective primary mathematics teachers’ learning from on-line discussions in a virtual video-based environment, by Salvador Llinares and Julia Valls

The article by van Es and Sherin is an Open Access article, so that one should be available even for non-subscribers!

New issue of IJMEST, vol 41, issue 3, 2010

A new issue of International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology has been released, and it contains a whole host of interesting articles and classroom notes. This issue appears to have a particular focus on the use of technology in mathematics teaching, and here is a list of the original articles that are contained in the issue:

• Sustainable student retention and gender issues in mathematics for ICT study, by Blazenka Divjak, Mirela Ostroski and Violeta Vidacek Hains
  
• A proposal for a variation on the axioms of classical geometry, by Bjorn Schellenberg
  
• Trends in performance of science and technology students (1997–2008) in Ireland, by Olivia Gill, John O’Donoghue, Fiona Faulkner and Ailish Hannigan
  
• Relational understanding and paths of reasoning through a Boolean lattice classification of quadrilaterals, by J. Karakonstantis and T. Patronis
  
• Using dynamic geometry to explore non-traditional theorems, by Arsalan Wares
  
• A new approach for proving or generating combinatorial identities, by Luis González
  

Review of my blog

After a slow month (on the blog - not at work!), it is great to see someone writing a nice review of this blog. This time it is Jerry Johnson from MathNEXUS who has written a very kind review. MathNEXUS is a web site particularly geared towards teachers of mathematics, and it presents itself as a mathematics portal with "news and ideas for teachers and learners of mathematics. So, if you're into teaching and/or learning of mathematics it might be worthwhile to check it out!

Thanks for the kind words, Jerry :-)

Appropriating geometric series as a cultural tool

A couple of new articles have been published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics lately, amongst those a very interesting one by my good colleague Martin Carlsen from the University of Agder, Norway. His article is entitled: Appropriating geometric series as a cultural tool: a study of student collaborative learning. Carlsen, along with other colleagues in Agder, have been influenced by the focus on small-group problem solving that was advocated by Neil Davidson and others some years ago. The Agder group is also strongly influenced by theories related to sociocultural perspectives of teaching and learning mathematics, and this article provides a nice overview of some of these theoretical foundations. The research reported in this article can be placed within a qualitative, naturalistic paradigm, and the data were analyzed using a dialogical approach (Carlsen here makes use of a framework developed by two other colleagues: Maria-Luiza Cestari and Raymond Bjuland). So, if you are interested in any of the perspectives referred to above, this article should be highly relevant for you! Here is the abstract of the article:

The aim of this article is to illustrate how students, through collaborative small-group problem solving, appropriate the concept of geometric series. Student appropriation of cultural tools is dependent on five sociocultural aspects: involvement in joint activity, shared focus of attention, shared meanings for utterances, transforming actions and utterances and use of pre-existing cultural knowledge from the classroom in small-group problem solving. As an analytical point of departure, four mathematical theoretical components are identified when appropriating the cultural tool of geometric series: (1) estimating of parameters, (2) establishing of the general term, (3) composing of the sum and (4) deciding on convergence. Analyses of five excerpts focused on the students’ social processes of knowledge objectification and the corresponding semiotic means, i.e., lecture notes, linguistic devices, gestures, head movements and gaze, to obtain shared foci and meanings. The investigation of these processes unveils the manner in which the students established links to pre-existing mathematical knowledge in the classroom and how they simultaneously combined the various mathematical theoretical components that go into appropriating the cultural tool of geometric series. From the excerpts, it is evident that the students’ participation changes throughout their involvement in the problem-solving process. The students are gaining mathematical knowing through a process of transforming and by establishing shared meanings for the concept and its theoretical components.

Exploring kindergarten teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics

Last week, an interesting article was published online in the International Journal of Early Childhood. The article is entitled Exploring Kindergarten Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Mathematics, and it has been written by Joohl Lee. The combination of teachers knowledge of mathematics and kindergarten is very interesting, and while a lot of research has been done to learn more about the type of knowledge mathematics  teachers need in school, little has been done to learn more about this in kindergarten. This is also mentioned by Lee in the article. As the title of the article reveals, Lee builds upon Shulman's traditional framework of teachers' professional knowledge. What I don't understand, however, is how it is possible to write an article about teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics without making any reference to the MKT (Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching) framework, or any of the work done by Deborah Ball and her colleagues at the University of Michigan. I understand that this article has a focus on kindergarten, but still... I also think there should be some mention of how the teachers in the study were selected. 81 kindergarten teachers were assessed in the study, and 55% of these had a master's degree. I would like to know more about how representative this sample was. Still, I think it is an interesting article, and I think it is a good thing that the issue of kindergarten teachers' knowledge of mathematics is addressed.

Here is the abstract of the article:

The purpose of this study was to assess 81 kindergarten teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics on six subcategory areas such as number sense, pattern, ordering, shapes, spatial sense, and comparison. The data showed participants possessed a higher level of pedagogical content knowledge of “number sense” (M = 89.12) compared to other mathematics pedagogical content areas. The second highest scores among six subcategories of pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics was for the pedagogical content area of “pattern” (M = 82.33). The lowest scores among those six subcategories of kindergarten teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge were obtained from the subcategory of “spatial sense” (M = 44.23), which involved the means to introduce children to spatial relationships. The second lowest score was obtained for the subcategory of “comparison” (M = 50.40) which involved the means to introduce the concept of graphing and the use of a balance scale for measurement.

Teachers attending to students' reasoning

John M. Francisco and Carolyn A. Maher have written an article about Teachers attending to students’ mathematical reasoning: lessons from an after-school research program. This article was published online in Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education last Thursday. This article is interesting in several respects, amongst others because awareness of and knowledge about students' mathematical reasoning is something teachers need, and it should be part of every mathematics teacher's professional knowledge. Theoretically, it builds upon Shulman's classic framework, but they also make interesting links to a focus on practitioner-researcher collaboration. The article reports on a study that was made of "elementary and middle school teachers who participated as interns in the 1-year NSF-funded Informal Mathematical Learning Project (IML)". Here is a copy of the abstract of their article:

There is a documented need for more opportunities for teachers to learn about students’ mathematical reasoning. This article reports on the experiences of a group of elementary and middle school mathematics teachers who participated as interns in an after-school, classroom-based research project on the development of mathematical ideas involving middle-grade students from an urban, low-income, minority community in the United States. For 1 year, the teachers observed the students working on well-defined mathematical investigations that provided a context for the students’ formation of particular mathematical ideas and different forms of reasoning in several mathematical content strands. The article describes insights into students’ mathematical reasoning that the teachers were able to gain from their observations of the students’ mathematical activity. The purpose is to show that teachers’ observations of students’ mathematical activity in research sessions on students’ development of mathematical ideas can provide opportunities for teachers to learn about students’ mathematical reasoning.

Busy days...

The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy - for many reasons - and I haven't been able to follow up on all the latest articles and news in the field. I apologize for this, and I hope that all the readers of the blog have patience with me! I promise that I will catch up :-)

In the meantime, you always have a couple of good options in order to stay really up-to-date:

• Pay attention to my Google Reader blog (shared items)
• Follow me on twitter

These two sites are a bit easier for me to update, and when I don't manage to update my blog as often as I would, I will probably continue to push new updates to these two other services. Still, as soon as I get my head above water again, I will keep providing you with information here as well :-)

Mathematically based and practically based explanations

Esther Levenson, Pessia Tsamir and Dina Tirosh have written an interesting article about Mathematically based and practically based explanations in the elementary school: teachers’ preferences. Their article was published online in Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education on Friday. In this article, the authors make interesting connnections between research on teachers' knowledge and beliefs. Although their focus is on knowledge and beliefs in relation to the use of explanations (and they distinguish between mathematically and practically based explanations) in the classroom, the article makes a nice contribution to extending our understanding of the way these concepts are related. The part of teachers' knowledge (and beliefs) that the authors discuss is related to students' thinking, or even a sub-category of that. In this respect, they make valuable contributions to what Deborah Ball and her colleagues refer to as Knowledge of Content and Students, but their focus is also in the borderline of what is referred to as Knowledge of Content and Teaching. The links to research concerning teachers' beliefs is also interesting, althought the authors don't go into great detail here. They are, of course, aware of this, and explain that they have only given "a glimpse into the complexity of the relationship between teachers' knowledge and beliefs", in particular with focus on teachers' use of explanations.

Here is the abstract of their article:

This article focuses on elementary school teachers’ preferences for mathematically based (MB) and practically based (PB) explanations. Using the context of even and odd numbers, it explores the types of explanations teachers generate on their own as well as the types of explanations they prefer after reviewing various explanations. It also investigates the basis for these preferences. Results show that teacher-generated explanations include more MB explanations than PB explanations. However, many still choose to use mostly PB explanations in their classrooms, believing that these explanations will be most convincing to their students. The implications for teacher education are discussed.

ZDM, February, 2010

A new issue of ZDM - The International Journal on Mathematics Education has been published. This issue has a special focus on Historical aspects of the use of technology and devices in ICMEs and ICMI, and guest editors have been Maria G. Bartolini Bussi and Marcelo C. Borba. The issue contains 15 articles which covers many aspects of the theme, from historical perspectives on the use of technology to a social perspective on technology enhanced learning. Here is an overview of the contents of this issue:

• The role of resources and technology in mathematics education, by Maria G. Bartolini Bussi and Marcelo C. Borba
• Historical comments on the use of technology and devices in ICMEs and ICMI, by Gert Schubring
• Exploration of technologies, emerging from African cultural practices, in mathematics (teacher) education, by Paulus Gerdes
• Concrete models and dynamic instruments as early technology tools in classrooms at the dawn of ICMI: from Felix Klein to present applications in mathematics classrooms in different parts of the world, by Maria G. Bartolini Bussi, Daina Taimina and Masami Isoda
• Mathematics learning and tools from theoretical, historical and practical points of view: the productive notion of mathematics laboratories, by Michela Maschietto and Luc Trouche
• Collectives of humans-with-media in mathematics education: notebooks, blackboards, calculators, computers and … notebooks throughout 100 years of ICMI, by Mónica E. Villarreal and Marcelo C. Borba
• Charting the microworld territory over time: design and construction in mathematics education, by Lulu Healy and Chronis Kynigos
• Graphic calculators and connectivity software to be a community of mathematics practitioners, by Ornella Robutti
• A social perspective on technology-enhanced mathematical learning: from collaboration to performance, by George Gadanidis and Vince Geiger
• Integrating technology into mathematics teaching at the university level, by Zsolt Lavicza
• Place and use of new technology in the teaching of mathematics: ICMI activities in the past 25 years, by Colette Laborde and Rudolf Sträßer
• Clarkson, P., Presmeg, N. (eds) (2008): Critical Issues in Mathematics Education: Major Contributions of Alan Bishop, Springer, New York, 257 pp., ISBN 978-0-387-09672-8, by Irit Peled
• Acknowledgements to reviewers 2009, by Gabriele Kaiser
• Acknowledgments to the members of the Editorial Board, by Gabriele Kaiser
• Advances in mathematics education: new book series connected to ZDM—The International Journal on Mathematics Education, by Gabriele Kaiser and Bharath Sriraman
  

Combining constructions of knowledge

Ivy Kidron and Tommy Dreyfus have written an article entitled Justification enlightenment and combining constructions of knowledge. The article was published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics last week. Here is a copy of the abstract of their article:

This case study deals with a solitary learner’s process of mathematical justification during her investigation of bifurcation points in dynamic systems. Her motivation to justify the bifurcation points drove the learning process. Methodologically, our analysis used the nested epistemic actions model for abstraction in context. In previous work, we have shown that the learner’s attempts at justification gave rise to several processes of knowledge construction, which develop in parallel and interact. In this paper, we analyze the interaction pattern of combining constructions and show that combining constructions indicate an enlightenment of the learner. This adds an analytic dimension to the nested epistemic actions model of abstraction in context.

Online distance mathematics education in Brazil

Marcus Vinicius Maltempi and Ana Paula dos Santos Malheiros have written an article about Online distance mathematics education in Brazil: research, practice and policy. The article was recently published online in ZDM. Here is the abstract of their article:

In this article, we address online distance mathematics education research and practice in Brazil, which are relative newcomers to the educational scene. We present the national context of education in Brazil, highlighting the organization of the educational system, and also a summary of national legislation on distance education and an overview of digital inclusion in the country. We outline the potential and relevance of distance education for the Brazilian educational system and show how it could intervene in the system. With respect to research and practice in online mathematics education, we present support for research, examples of studies and highlight different aspects being addressed, including its essential components. In addition, we discuss the synergy between distance education and teacher education, and mathematics distance education and modeling, as well as other initiatives in the national scenario.

Mathematics education and democracy

Adriana Cesar de Mattos and Marcelo Salles Batarce have written an article that was published online in ZDM on Wednesday. This article is about Mathematics education and democracy, and here is a copy of the abstract:

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between mathematics education and the notions of education for all/democracy. In order to proceed with our analysis, we present Marx’s concept of commodity and Jean Baudrillard’s concept of sign value as a theoretical reference in the discussion of how knowledge has become a universal need in today’s society and ideology. After, we engage in showing mathematics education’s historical and epistemological grip to this ideology. We claim that mathematics education appears in the time period that English becomes an international language and the notion of international seems to be a key constructor in the constitution of that ideology. Here, we draw from Derrida’s famous saying that “there is nothing beyond the text”. We conclude that a critique to modern society and education has been developed from an idealistic concept of democracy.

Feeling number

David Wagner and Brent Davis have written an article called Feeling number: grounding number sense in a sense of quantity. The article was published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics on Monday. In this interesting article, they draw upon different theories and ideas from psychology as well as cultural and linguistic studies. Here is the abstract of their article:¨

Drawing on results from psychology and from cultural and linguistic studies, we argue for an increased focus on developing quantity sense in school mathematics. We explore the notion of “feeling number”, a phrase that we offer in a twofold sense—resisting tendencies to feel numb-er (more numb) by developing a feeling for numbers and the quantities they represent. First, we distinguish between quantity sense and the relatively vague notion of number sense. Second, we consider the human capacity for quantity sense and place that in the context of related cultural issues, including verbal and symbolic representations of number. Third and more pragmatically, we offer teaching strategies that seem helpful in the development of quantity sense coupled with number sense. Finally, we argue that there is a moral imperative to connect number sense with such a quantity sense that allows students to feel the weight of numbers. It is important that learners develop a feeling for number, which includes a sense of what numbers are and what they can do.

Engaging in problem posing activities

Ilana Lavya and Atara Shrikib have written an article that was recently published online in The Journal of Mathematical Behavior. The full title of their article is: Engaging in problem posing activities in a dynamic geometry setting and the development of prospective teachers’ mathematical knowledge. Here is the abstract of their article:

In the present study we explore changes in perceptions of our class of prospective mathematics teachers (PTs) regarding their mathematical knowledge. The PTs engaged in problem posing activities in geometry, using the “What If Not?” (WIN) strategy, as part of their work on computerized inquiry-based activities. Data received from the PTs’ portfolios reveals that they believe that engaging in the inquiry-based activity enhanced both their mathematical and meta-mathematical knowledge. As to the mathematical knowledge, they deepened their knowledge regarding the geometrical concepts and shapes involved, and during the process of creating the problem and checking its validity and its solution, they deepened their understanding of the interconnections among the concepts and shapes involved. As to meta-mathematical knowledge, the PTs refer to aspects such as the meaning of the givens and their relations, validity of an argument, the importance and usefulness of the definitions of concepts and objects, and the importance of providing a formal proof.

TMME, January 2010 revisited

The January issue of The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast has now been released on the journal website. The entire issue is freely available as always!

0. New Year Tidings Bharath Sriraman (USA) pp. 1-2
FEATURE ARTICLES

1. When is .999... Less Than 1? Karin Usadi Katz and Mikhail G. Katz (Israel) pp. 3-30
2. High School Teachers use of Dynamic Software to generate serendipitous mathematical relations Manuel Santos-Trigo and Hugo Espinosa-Pérez (Mexico) pp. 31-46
3. Gender and Mathematics Education in Pakistan: A situation analysis Anjum Halai (Pakistan/Tanzania) pp. 47-62
4. Early Intervention in College Mathematics Courses: A Component of the STEM RRG Program Funded by the US Department of Education Rohitha Goonatilake and Eduardo Chappa (USA) pp. 63-74
5. “What Was Really Accomplished Today?”
Mathematics Content Specialists Observe a Class for Prospective K–8 Teachers Andrew M. Tyminski, Sarah Ledford, Dennis Hembree (USA) pp. 75-92
6. Leading Learning within a PLC: Implementing New Mathematics Content Ann Heirdsfield, Janeen Lamb, Gayle Spry (Australia) pp. 93-112
7. Mathematical Reasoning in Service Courses: Why Students Need Mathematical Modeling Problems Kris H. Green & Allen Emerson (USA) pp. 113-140
8. Randomness: Developing an understanding of mathematical order. Steve Humble (UK) pp. 141-148
9. The Constructs of PhD Students about Infinity: An Application of Repertory Grids Serdar Aztekin, Ahmet Arikan (Turkey) & Bharath Sriraman (USA) pp. 149-174

TMME, No 1, 2010

The next issue of THE MONTANA MATHEMATICS ENTHUSIAST is soon to appear, and it is going to be Vol.7, No.1, January 2010. This issue is particularly exciting for me, since I am introduced as one of the new members of the editorial board! As usual, it is also going to be an interesting issue. The entire issue will be available soon on the journal website.

Here is a list of the feature articles in the forthcoming issue of TMME:

1. When is .999... Less Than 1? by Karin Usadi Katz and Mikhail G. Katz (Israel)
2. High School Teachers use of Dynamic Software to generate serendipitous mathematical relations, by Manuel Santos-Trigo and Hugo Espinosa-Pérez (Mexico)
3. Gender and Mathematics Education in Pakistan: A situation analysis, by Anjum Halai (Pakistan/Tanzania)
4. Early Intervention in College Mathematics Courses: A Component of the STEM RRG Program Funded by the US Department of Education, by Rohitha Goonatilake and Eduardo Chappa (USA)
5. "What Was Really Accomplished Today?" Mathematics Content Specialists Observe a Class for Prospective K-8 Teachers, by Andrew M. Tyminski, Sarah Ledford, Dennis Hembree (USA)
6. Leading Learning within a PLC: Implementing New Mathematics Content, by Ann Heirdsfield, Janeen Lamb, Gayle Spry (Australia)
7. Mathematical Reasoning in Service Courses: Why Students Need Mathematical Modeling Problems, by Kris H. Green & Allen Emerson (USA)
8. Randomness: Developing an understanding of mathematical order, by Steve Humble (UK)
9. The Constructs of PhD Students about Infinity: An Application of Repertory Grids, by Serdar Aztekin, Ahmet Arikan (Turkey) & Bharath Sriraman (USA)

Below, you'll find Professor Bharath Sriraman's editorial, and the updated editorial board info:

TMME, vol7, no1, 2010, Editorial

Edboardlistandjournalinfo_vol7no1_2010

Integrating technology into mathematics teaching

Zsolt Lavicza has written an article entitled Integrating technology into mathematics teaching at the university level. This article was published online in ZDM on Friday. Here is the abstract of the article:

The emergence of new computing technologies in the second half of the twentieth century brought about new potentials and promised the rapid transformation of the teaching and learning of mathematics. However, despite the vast investments in technology resources for schools and universities, the realities of schooling and the complexities of technology-equipped environments resulted in a much slower integration process than was predicted in the 1980s. Hence researchers, together with teachers and mathematicians, began examining and reflecting on various aspects of technology-assisted teaching and learning and on the causes of slow technology integration. Studies highlighted that as technology becomes increasingly available in schools, teachers’ beliefs and conceptions about technology use in teaching are key factors for understanding the slowness of technology integration. In this paper, I outline the shift of research focus from learning and technology environment-related issues to teachers’ beliefs and conceptions. In addition, I highlight that over the past two decades a considerable imbalance has developed in favour of school-level research against university-level research. However, several changes in universities, such as students declining mathematical preparedness and demands from other sciences and employers, necessitate closer attention to university-level research. Thus, I outline some results of my study that aimed to reflect on the paucity of research and examined the current extend of technology use, particularly Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) at universities, mathematicians’ views about the role of CAS in tertiary mathematics teaching, and the factors influencing technology integration. I argue that due to mathematicians’ extensive use of CAS in their research and teaching, documenting their teaching practices and carrying out research at this level would not only be beneficial at the university level but also contribute to our understanding of technology integration at all levels.

Using history as a goal

Uffe Thomas Jankvist has written an article called An empirical study of using history as a ‘goal’. The article was published online in Educational Studies in Mathematics two days ago. Here is the abstract of his article:

This article discusses an empirical study on the use of history as a goal. A historical module is designed and implemented in a Danish upper secondary class in order to study the students’ capabilities at engaging in meta-issue discussions and reflections on mathematics and its history. Based on videos of the implementation, students’ hand-in essay assignments, questionnaires, and follow-up interviews, the conditions, sense, and extent to which the students are able to perform such discussions and reflections are analyzed using a described theoretical framework.

January issue of Science & Education

The January issue of Science & Education has been published. One of the articles contained in the issue is of relevance to mathematics education: A Pilot Study of a Cultural-Historical Approach to Teaching Geometry. The article is written by Stuart Rowlands from the University of Plymouth. Here is the abstract of his article:

There appears to be a widespread assumption that deductive geometry is inappropriate for most learners and that they are incapable of engaging with the abstract and rule-governed intellectual processes that became the world’s first fully developed and comprehensive formalised system of thought. This article discusses a curriculum initiative that aims to ‘bring to life’ the major transformative (primary) events in the history of Greek geometry, aims to encourage a meta-discourse that can develop a reflective consciousness and aims to provide an opportunity for the induction into the formalities of proof and to engage with the abstract. The results of a pilot study to see whether 14–15 year old ‘mixed ability’ and 15–16 year old ‘gifted and talented’ students can be meaningfully engaged with two such transformative events are discussed.

Happy new year!

I want to wish all readers of the Mathematics Education Research Blog a happy new year!

2009 was a nice year in many ways, and I am certain that 2010 will be a great year too! No matter what lies ahead, I will do my best to keep you up to date on what happens in the world of mathematics education research, with a particular emphasis on journals and scientific articles. Best of wishes to all of you, and I hope that 2010 will be a productive year for each and everyone of you!