Within a major numeracy project, there were marked differences in achievement between classes, which, as reported in Sullivan and McDonough (2002), we attribute to the teachers. To gain insights into the practices of effective teachers, six case studies of highly effective teachers at the Prep (first year of school) to Grade 2 level were…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the performance in arithmetic related to achievement levels in reading and mathematics. Basic arithmetical facts and multi-step calculations were examined. The participants were 941 pupils aged 8 (N = 415), 10 (N = 274) and 13 (N = 252) years. The pupils were divided into four groups by standardized…

Contemporary trends in education reflect a shift from traditional teacher-centered approaches to more student-centered approaches to learning. Empowering students in their own learning is facilitated by teaching them effective meaning-making strategies that support active participation in their own learning. Making this happen requires using…

In this study we investigated relationships between convergent and divergent thinking with an emphasis on fluency, originality, flexibility and elaboration in the mathematical domain. A related purpose was to examine relationships between problem types in mathematical tasks. The math section of a performance-based assessment was used to assess 857…

Metacognitive Performance of four groups of students (hearing high-achieving, hearing average-achieving, hearing underachieving, and deaf and hard of hearing) in first through third grade in the United Arab Emirates was examined and compared. Metacognition was measured using analyses of pictures depicting real-life problematic events, situations,…

In this article, the authors seek to re-conceptualize the perspective regarding students' difficulties with algebra. While acknowledging that students "do" have difficulties when learning algebra, they also argue that the generally espoused criteria for algebra as the ability to work with the syntactical rules for solving equations is…

A within-subjects design was used to compare two instructional methods--explicit timing and interspersing--with 187 second-grade students. Students completed two mathematics word problem assignments under differing conditions. In the explicit timing condition, students were told they would be timed while working long mathematics word problems. In…

Even the youngest readers and writers in today's classrooms can benefit enormously from engagement with a wide range of traditional and nontraditional texts. This teacher-friendly handbook is packed with creative strategies for introducing K-3 students to fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling;…

Two studies were conducted to explore mathematical precocity in young children. Study 1 examined mathematically gifted first and third graders' working memory development. The results showed that mathematically gifted children's working memory growth was similar to that expected of their age peers. Study 2 examined changes in mathematically gifted…

It has always been a challenge for elementary school teachers to help special needs students and English learners understand challenging, standards-based science content while their students are still developing English language skills. Through their work as pilot teachers for the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) program developed by the Museum of…

This research investigated the impact of personalizing mathematical word problems using individual student interests on student problem-solving performance. Ten word problems were selected randomly from a mathematics textbook to create a series of two assessments. Both assessments contained problems exactly as they appeared in the textbook and…

This study reports the development and evaluation of a web-based interactive writing environment designed for elementary school students. The environment includes three writing themes, "story pass on", "story chameleon" and "thousand ideas", to encourage reading comprehension, creativity and problem-solving skills of…

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a well established tool for formative assessment. CBM has also been used for prediction of state test scores. However, validity coefficients between math-CBM and state tests have been moderate at best (Skiba, Magnusson, Martson, and Erickson, 1986; Martson, 1989; Putnam, 1989). The purpose of the present…

This publication contains Arizona public schools' academic standards for grade 3. The contents of this document include the following: (1) The Arts Standard 2006--Grade 3; (2) Comprehensive Health Education/Physical Activity Standards 1997--Foundations (Grades 1-3); (3) Foreign and Native Language Standards 1997--Foundations (Grades 1-3); (4)…