This article details an exploratory data analysis project using the Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP) based on the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education" (GAISE) four-part statistical problem-solving model. The project goal was to answer what similarities and differences exist within the school…

Despite problem posing's prominence in mathematics education research, its implementation in classrooms is limited. Therefore, teacher educators should incorporate problem posing tasks into preparation programs to help prospective teachers gain confidence in their abilities. One approach to teaching problem posing includes providing examples. The…

A problem-based learning activity focusing on the human impact on the environment and the importance of sustainable development is presented. The activity revolves around a mysterious island where the civilization is on the blink of extinction, prompting students to investigate how human behavior, ecosystems, resources, and natural balance…

In this article, the author describes strategies to support students in conjecturing in ways that promote their agency. Conjecturing involves justifying (i.e., a practice that promotes epistemic agency and engages students in mathematical reasoning to defend their claims; Bieda & Staples, 2020) by which a conjecture becomes proven, modified,…

A new classification for semantic structures of one-step word problems is proposed in this paper. The classification is based on illustrations of word problem situations in Common Core State Standards (CCSSM, 2010) and related historical studies (e.g. Weaver, 1973, 1979, 1982), as well as conceptual elaborations of embodied and grounded nature in…

Changes in U.S. textbooks indicate that U.S. first-grade students in the Common Core era were exposed to a wider variety of word problem types than students in previous generations were. We compared the performance of U.S. first graders in the Common Core era with that of previous generations in solving 11 types of additive word problems to…

Grades 4 and 8 students had shown slow but steady improvement in scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment from 1990 until 2013, but performance since then has been lower despite the introduction of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) in the early 2010s. This study examined student…

The development of assessments as part of the funded LOCUS project is described. The assessments measure students' conceptual understanding of statistics as outlined in the GAISE PreK-12 Framework. Results are reported from a large-scale administration to 3,430 students in grades 6 through 12 in the United States. Items were designed to assess…

While contemporary mathematics education literature argues that curricular resources, such as textbooks, play a significant role guiding mathematics teachers in what and how they teach, it also shows that these resources often do not do what they say they will do, nor adhere to the standards they claim to further. When it comes to the most…

Despite the introduction of Common Core State Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics urging educators to explore fundamental concepts in mathematics at a deeper level, the majority of mathematics education has remained aimed at initial skill acquisition. The result has led to students learning to mimic a standard set of…

A Common Core expectation of high school mathematics students is to analyze functions using different representations. One type of function to be analyzed is piecewise-defined functions. The author has found most approaches to the study of piecewise functions to be abstract, disconnected from any context, and difficult for students to understand.…

Improving children's "number sense" has been a core component of recent mathematics curricular and instructional reforms (CCSS, 2010; NCTM, 2000, 2014) in the United States. Students with mature number sense make sense of numbers and operations, use reasoning to notice patterns, and flexibly select the most effective and efficient…

The year students take Algebra I historically determines how far they progress in secondary mathematics, creating complex equity issues around access to this course. By examining a case study of one large, urban school district adjusting to the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M), we demonstrate how district leaders' interactions,…