This study is concerned with the analysis of mathematical textbook tasks at the second-level in Ireland, in the context of the introduction of the revised curriculum entitled 'Project Maths'. A total of 7635 tasks on the topics of Pattern, Sequences and Series, and Differential Calculus were analysed; these tasks were selected from editions of…

While the importance of collaborative problem-solving has been highlighted as an important skill by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), no specific model exists for mathematics facilitators to implement when engaging their students in group problem-solving. In this paper, we introduce the CoPs model for Collaborative…

For many decades, problem solving has been a focus of elementary mathematics education reforms. Despite this, in many education systems, the prevalent approach to mathematics problem solving treats it as an isolated activity instead of an integral part of teaching and learning. In this study, two mathematics teacher educators introduced 19 Irish…

The pre-service teacher followed in this paper aimed to act as an agent of change during a time of reform in Irish secondary mathematics education. A teacher-researcher led action research project was conducted to depict the reality of the situation regarding the implementation of mathematical problem solving from a variety of perspectives-namely…

Out-of-field teaching refers to the practice of assigning teachers to teach subjects that do not match their training or education. This paper reports on a study evaluating the impact of a national professional development programme for out-of-field teachers of post-primary school mathematics in Ireland -- the Professional Diploma in Mathematics…

In this paper, the RBC+C framework (Hershkowitz, Schwartz, & Dreyfus, 2001) is used to analyse and describe construction and consolidation of mathematical knowledge by primary pupils in a whole-class setting. I describe a lesson that concerned what is commonly termed the Handshakes problem. One pupil spontaneously established a connection with…

The primary school mathematics curriculum in Ireland is based upon a constructivist philosophy of learning. As constructivism is a theory of learning and not teaching, implementing a constructivist approach in the classroom requires teachers to identify the implications and applications of constructivist philosophy for teaching. In this research,…

Textbooks, like many other resources teachers have at hand, are meant to be an aid for instruction; however there is little research with textbooks or on their potential to develop metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge has received substantial attention in the literature, in particular for its relationship with problem-solving in…

Investigated was how easily pupils aged 12 and 13 who were initially unaware of the invariance of an operation (with decimals) modeling a situation could be led to such awareness. Results from clinical interviews are reviewed and a protocol presented. It appeared difficult to induce conservation. (MNS)

This volume of the 30th annual proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education conference presents: plenary panel papers; research forum papers; short oral communication papers; and poster presentation papers from the meeting. Information relating to discussion groups and working sessions is also provided.…