The issue of mathematical knowledge in teaching has been widely discussed over the years. In this study, we carried out a systematic review of the literature with the aim of understanding, quantitatively and qualitatively, the studies developed related to the mathematical knowledge necessary for the teaching of Mathematics, with a focus on Numbers…

The basic notions of combinatorics, including systematic listing and permutations, are important topics of mathematics that are recommended to be learned eventually from elementary schools. However, there is little research in mathematics education regarding elementary students' combinatorial strategies. The purpose of this research is to…

In this paper, drawing on semi-structured interviews with generalist teachers of year-one children in England and Sweden, we examine comparatively the influence of the intended curriculum (teachers in both countries work within mandated national curricula) and the received curriculum (the collectively assumed efficacious practices and goals handed…

In this paper, we examine the national curricula for primary mathematics for each of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) for the estimation-related opportunities they offer children. Framed against four conceptually and procedurally different forms of estimation (computational,…

Despite the importance of computational estimation skill for the improvement of number sense, little research exists on preservice teachers' estimation skills and their view on estimation in the US context. This study examined the computational estimation skill of 58 preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) and its relationship to their views of the…

The aim of this study was to investigate second-grade elementary school students' performance related to their counting skills, place value understanding, and addition operation in natural numbers. A total of 205 second-grade elementary school students from Turkey participated in this study. The data were collected through a 'Personal Information…

In this article, we report the findings of a study conducted with 6 Grade 8 students in the United States. The students posed stories for open number sentences involving addition and subtraction of integers. We analysed the stories posed by the students to build models that describe the conceptual structures behind these posed stories -- the…

The current study was conducted with the goal of helping to address the research gap of improving preservice teachers' pedagogical knowledge about probability by investigating how preservice teachers explored concepts of probability during aleatoric music composition, as well as their contemplation process during follow-up reflections focused on…

A study conducted with 25 Year 6 primary school students investigated the potential for a short classroom intervention to begin the development of a "Modelling" conception of mathematics on the way to developing a sense of mathematics as a way of thinking about life. The study documents the developmental roots of the cognitive activity,…

We interviewed 40 students each in grades 7 and 11 to investigate their integer-related reasoning. In one task, the students were asked to write and interpret equations related to a story problem about borrowing money from a friend. All the students solved the story problem correctly. However, they reasoned about the problem in different ways.…

This paper analyses the strategies used by pre-service primary school teachers for solving simple addition problems involving negative numbers. The findings reveal six different strategies that depend on the difficulty of the problem and, in particular, on the unknown quantity. We note that students use negative numbers in those problems they find…

Modern Hindu-Arabic numeration is the end result of a long period of evolution, and is clearly superior to any system that has gone before, but is it optimal? We compare it to a hypothetical base 5 system, which we dub Predator arithmetic, and judge which of the two systems is superior from a mathematics education point of view. We find that…

This study mainly aims to develop an effective strategy to overcome the known difficulties in teaching negative numbers. Another aim is to measure the success of this teaching strategy among a group of elementary level pupils in Izmir, Turkey. Learning negative concepts are supported by computer animations. The academic achievement test developed…

This article draws an analogy between prime and irrational numbers with respect to how these numbers are defined and how they are perceived by learners. Excerpts are presented from two research studies: a study on understanding prime numbers by pre-service elementary school teachers and a study on understanding irrational numbers by pre-service…

The paper describes the use of a spreadsheet in a mathematics teacher education course. It shows how the tool can serve as a link between seemingly disconnected mathematical concepts. The didactical triad of using a spreadsheet as an agent, consumer, and amplifier of mathematical activities allows for an extended investigation of simple yet…