Issues regarding the construction of a national mathematics curriculum in Australia are presented and discussed. Included in the discussion are the status the framework will have, and its specificity, context, validity, and implementation. (CW)

Presents an activity for introducing probability by investigating the Chinese policy of having one child per family and a one-son policy of some rural Chinese. Discusses features of the problem, including counterintuitiveness, multiple options for analysis, and thought experiments. (MKR)

Discusses an activity which models the building of a tunnel by ants using the definitions of derivative and indefinite integral from calculus. Includes a discussion of reasonableness and interpretation of the problem. (MKR)

Discusses the use of manipulatives and the connections between mathematics and science to help preservice teachers to discover and reconstruct their mathematical knowledge. Uses science and mathematics to model functions and to show examples of multiple representations. (MKR)

Provides a critical analysis of some of the social and political contexts of mathematics education in the adult and vocational education and training sectors with particular reference to gender issues. Presents a brief overview of recent policy developments and reviews selected papers from the literature on gender equity. Compares constraints of…

Details the University of Colorado (CU) Assessment Project, designed to help teachers create and implement classroom-based performance assessments to complement mathematics and literacy instructional goals. Notes patterns of change, including: instructional and assessment practices with greater emphasis on conceptual understanding; higher…

Analyzes findings from a study of Cypriot teachers' perceptions of national policy for curriculum reform in primary school, emphasizing mathematics. Responses of 286 teachers, including some beginning teachers, show a coherent view of active pedagogy among Cypriot teachers, with emphasis on practical activities that is not yet apparent in the…

Describes changes that are being made in mathematics teachers' subject studies in order to provide students with sufficiently deep knowledge of mathematics and science and with present-day expertise in their profession as teachers. Provides an abstract algebra course as the ultimate example of a pedagogical experiment where co-operative learning…

Fourth-grade students who participated in a yearlong, whole-class teaching experiment not only reconceptualized natural numbers but also generated flexible solution strategies to perform numerical computations mentally and in writing. Students' reconceptualization of number was mediated by their perceived resemblance between the physical action of…

This article presents two statistical tasks, one on comparing data sets, another on repeated sampling, both of which have powerful connections to proportional reasoning. Students' work and reasoning on these tasks are included, as well as suggestions for ways to use these tasks with middle school students to connect statistical thinking to…

Hocking College, like many institutions of higher learning, has struggled to define, document, and assess those general skills deemed necessary for success in the workplace and life. The mathematics faculty have spent many years developing appropriate tools for assessment of student academic achievement. Although the process has taken several…

Deficiencies in mathematics achievement in the United States have spurred calls for reform in K-12 curricula and pedagogy. Based on contemporary learning theories, numerous curriculum programs have been developed that emphasize problem solving, critical thinking, mathematical connections, and mathematical communication. These innovations require…

As children make the transition to school, many things may change for them. Among these are the ways they interact with curriculum areas such as mathematics. This paper explores some of these changes by considering examples of children's mathematical experiences in prior-to-school and school settings and analysing them in terms of the mathematical…

This study examines one child's use of computational procedures over a period of 3 years in an urban elementary school where teachers were using a standards-based curriculum. From a sociocultural perspective, the use of standard algorithms to solve mathematical problems is viewed as a cultural tool that both enables and constrains particular…

This project was coordinated and funded by the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS). Cal-PASS is a data sharing system linking all segments of education. Its purpose is to improve student transition and success from one educational segment to the next. Cal-PASS' math deconstruction projects were initiated by the faculty…