Developing structure sense is an important part of learning algebra. We investigated learners' structure sense of algebraic expressions involving brackets. This led us to propose the constructs "surface structure" sense and "systemic structure" sense. Using a random sample of 58 Grade 10 learners scoring above 40% in a test, we…

Background: Poor mathematics performance in South Africa is well known. The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to exacerbate the situation. Aim: To investigate Grade 7 learners' mathematical knowledge at the end of primary school and to compare mathematical performance of Grade 7 and 8 learners in the context of the pandemic. Setting: Data were…

The aim of the study is to examine prospective mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in terms of knowledge of understanding students and knowledge of instructional strategies which are the subcomponents of pedagogical content knowledge. The participants of this research consist of 98 prospective teachers who are studying in two…

Many students encounter difficulty in their transition to advanced mathematical thinking. Such difficulty may be explained by a lack of understanding of many concepts taught in early school years, especially multiplicative reasoning. Advanced mathematical thinking depends on the development of multiplicative reasoning. The purpose of this study…