In an effort to improve upon Calculus I instruction at our institution, we designed a pilot study that incorporated a variety of evidence-based classroom practices. The goal was not to formally test known successful teaching interventions. Rather, the purpose was to develop and identify course materials and instructional methods that would not…

Math underachievement is of grave concern with 42% of 4th grade and 36% of 8th grade students achieving at a proficient or advanced level in mathematics, and schools are continually searching for interventions to implement with struggling students. The problem addressed in this study is recently an elementary school purchased access to…

A survey was conducted with 86 teachers across 10 states regarding their students' ease of use of physical manipulatives incorporated with implementing evidence-based early numeracy instruction. The majority of respondents indicated significant student accessibility barriers. Specifically, 75% of respondents had students with tactile defensiveness…

Finding ways to improve student success in calculus is a critically important step on the path to supporting students who are pursuing degrees in STEM fields. Far too many students fail calculus 1 and are pushed to drop their majors in technical fields. One way of addressing this issue is by following a program that was pioneered at University of…

This paper describes the use of Mathematics Action Research Projects (ARPs) as a capstone experience in lieu of a Master's Thesis in a Master's program for in-service secondary teachers. The ARPs include two primary components: (i) each teacher participant conducts mathematical research that is new to them on a topic that is connected in some way…

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a highly useful topic within an introductory Linear Algebra course, especially since it can be used to incorporate a number of applied projects. This method represents an essential application and extension of the Spectral Theorem and is commonly used within a variety of fields, including statistics,…

In this article, the authors describe classroom use of technology that successfully engaged fourth grade students (typically aged 9-10) in the United States in learning about fractions. The activities involved the use of an interactive simulation designed to support student learning of fractions, and whole-class discussion where students were…

We have created an inventory to characterize the teaching practices used in science and mathematics courses. This inventory can aid instructors and departments in reflecting on their teaching. It has been tested with several hundred university instructors and courses from mathematics and four science disciplines. Most instructors complete the…

In this study we aimed to understand who was struggling in freshman calculus courses, and why. Concentrating on the Fall sections of the class, the best predictors for success (R[superscript 2] = 0.4) were placement test results, the student's own appraisal of the quality of mathematics teaching they received in high school, and the Motivated…

We posit that professional development (PD) models fall on a continuum from highly adaptive to highly specified, and that these constructs provide a productive way to characterize and distinguish among models. The study reported here examines the impact of an adaptive mathematics PD model on teachers' knowledge and instructional practices as well…

To meet the growing demand for teacher learning opportunities, the educational community must create scalable professional development models and study their effectiveness. In this chapter, we argue that design-based implementation research (DBIR) is ideally suited to these efforts, and we use two research projects as illustrative cases: CSR…

It is important to be able to describe instructional practices accurately in order to support research on "what works" in education and professional development as a basis for efforts to improve practice. This report describes a project to develop procedures for characterizing classroom practices in mathematics and science on the …

Math experts developed Formative Assessment Lessons that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum. Both tools target the "instructional core." A study by Research for Action (RFA) examining the first year of piloting the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and Math Design Collaborative (MDC) tools (2010-11) found…

Improving teacher effectiveness is high on the list of most education reformers in Colorado, as it is nationally. Effective teaching in the elementary years is of vital importance to ensure not only that children master fundamental skills, but that performance gaps narrow rather than widen beyond repair. Disadvantaged students can catch up…

The purpose of this article is to describe Discourse Time (D.T.), a teaching practice that aims to integrate argumentative literacy, the third piece of the literacy puzzle, into math learning environments. Snapshots from a tenth grade classroom at Skyview Academy High School in Thornton, Colorado is used to paint a vivid picture of what D.T. looks…