Previous research has highlighted the importance of social relationships in mathematical group work while working on modelling activities. This study analyses the interaction of sixth-grade students in Primary Education (11 to 12 years old) carrying out a modelling task in groups with a Fermi problem used as the modelling activity. The focus of…

Using mathematical modelling to solve problems appears in all year levels in the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (v. 9), and is probably the most authentic way of teaching mathematics in context. However, the term mathematical modelling, even if familiar to teachers, may not be well understood or enacted confidently by teachers in their…

The revised Australian curriculum presents a new emphasis in primary schools on the process of Mathematical Modelling. A modelling focus brings close attention to confidence and capability with a potentially new problem-solving process, associated language, and pedagogical processes. This paper presents a Year 4 classroom modelling experience that…

Mathematization is a critical competency in the modelling process. This study aims to elicit prospective mathematics teachers' mathematizing through the analysis of their solution approaches to a modelling problem related to the bales of straw. This study was conducted with 75 fourth-year prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) enrolled in a…

Connections among the mathematics, science, and engineering disciplines have been recognized and affirmed in national standards. For example, the application of mathematical ideas and skills within science has been highlighted in national science standards for over 20 years. More recently, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead…

This study presents a teaching experiment in which second-grade primary school students compared a city and a town according to population estimates. The activities were presented to them as Fermi problems and required an analysis of the reality to identify sub-problems that students could deal with. The students' products were analyzed from the…

Quantitative reasoning is defined as reasoning about relationships between items, measurements of objects, and quantities rather than numbers. Both in the transition from arithmetic to algebra and in the problem-solving process, quantitative reasoning is seen as a critical instrument for the development of students' mathematical skills. In the…

Mathematical modeling involves using mathematics to represent, analyze, and make predictions or decisions about real- world situations. Garfunkel and Montgomery (2016) elaborate on six components of the mathematical modeling process, including identifying the problem, making assumptions and identifying variables, doing the math, analyzing and…

Mathematical modeling is a process in which students investigate authentic problems and everyday situations using mathematics. In doing so, they bring their multiple mathematical knowledge bases and cultural funds of knowledge into their solution strategies. During a task called "Abuelo's Birthday", 297 students in grades 3-5 decided how…

This study explored how students develop meaning of functions by building on their understanding of expressions and equations. A teaching experiment using design research was conducted in a sixth-grade classroom. The data was analyzed using a grounded theory approach to provide explanations about why events occurred within this teaching episode…

We explored the mediating role of prior knowledge on the relation between intelligence and learning proportional reasoning. What students gain from formal instruction may depend on their intelligence, as well as on prior encounters with proportional concepts. We investigated whether a basic curriculum unit on the concept of density promoted…

This paper reports on a design-based study within the context of a 3-day "digital making" (DM) summer camp attended by a group of students (aged 11-13) in grades 5 and 6. During the camp, students were presented with a set of mathematical problems to solve in a block-based programming environment, which was connected to various physical…

The purpose of this systematic review is to reveal the research findings that suggest instructional practices to foster the creativity of students in mathematics. Although several studies have investigated the effects of various instructional practices influencing the mathematical creativity of students, little is known about how the findings of…

This article explores 6th-grade students' modelling with data in generating models for selecting an Australian swimming team for the (then) forthcoming 2016 Olympics, using data on swimmers' times at various previous events. We propose a modelling framework comprising four components: working in shared problem spaces between mathematics and…

We conducted a comprehensive synthesis of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) research that aimed to facilitate the learning of mathematical word problem solving involving elementary and secondary school students with learning disabilities or difficulties in mathematics. We examined a total of 13 studies under the four instructional categories:…