Describes the development of the "Standards Beliefs Instrument," an instrument to measure teachers' beliefs about the NCTM "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards." Discusses implications for using the instrument for self reflection, assessment of teachers' perspectives toward the vision of the "Standards," and…

Assesses the 5-14 Development Program, national guidelines for primary-secondary curricula in Scotland. Examines program objectives for mathematics, English, and environmental studies. Describes guidelines' possible ambiguities for teachers seeking tools for instruction and academic assessment. Suggests teachers' experience be used to further…

Seven articles discuss a theme that was also the subject of a symposium at an Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, reform of school mathematics teaching and curriculum. These articles indicate that educational reform is a complicated endeavor and tension exists between the old and new. (SLD)

The Ciulistet, an Alaska Native teachers' research group, focused on the development of Yup'ik culturally based mathematics. Examines difficulties in interpreting Yup'ik knowledge to school-based mathematics, theoretical implications for indigenous education, and the process of culturally negotiating context and content of schooling. Describes the…

Presented is a method of reorganizing a high school geometry course to integrate coordinate geometry together with Euclidean geometry at an earlier stage in the course, thus enabling students to prove subsequent theorems from either perspective. Several examples contrasting different proofs from both perspectives are provided. (MDH)

Describes the development of a college mathematics course for liberal arts majors designed to engage students in the mathematical process of making conjectures, testing those conjectures, and communicating the results. Presents six specific learning objectives for the course. (MDH)

Compares the content of geometry and measurement appearing in first- through eighth-grade textbooks in the United States and the Republic of Korea. American textbooks devoted a greater number of pages to measurement and geometry content, introduced the content earlier, presented concepts and skills more independently of each other, and presented…

Proposes methods to teach the more difficult concepts of linear algebra. Examines features of the Linear Algebra Curriculum Study Group Core Syllabus, and presents problems from the core syllabus that utilize the mathematical process skills of making conjectures, proving the results, and communicating the results to colleagues. Presents five…

Examines the potential of technology for an algebra curriculum. Provides examples of technology in use in examining families of functions, fitting a curve to a data set, and observing and analyzing patterns. Discusses exemplary software and calculators for the algebra curriculum. (MDH)

Discussed is the educational system in the nation of Japan with a special emphasis on elementary mathematics instruction. The amount of time spent on various subjects, observations in Japanese classrooms, Juku, and the use of technology are discussed. (CW)

Stresses using the features of graphing calculators to teach parametric equations much earlier in the curriculum than is presently done. Examples using parametric equations to teach slopes and lines in beginning algebra, inverse functions in advanced algebra, the wrapping function, and simulations of physical phenomena are presented. (MAZ)

Discusses an introductory mathematics course for six year olds which incorporates visual reflection of essential links and relationships, broad and flexible approaches, student actions, and meaningful cooperation of students. The four topics covered are determination of attributes, symbolic representation of relations and transformations, the…

In the past, the teacher's sole job is to dispense his pool of knowledge to his students. The emergence of the knowledge economy and globalisation have redefined the place and role of knowledge in society. It is no longer effective to accumulate knowledge but rather to acquire skills for processing the large amount of data made available through…

This essay reviews the principles motivating contemporary"critical mathematics" discourses. Drawing from varied critical discourses including ethno-mathematics, critical theory, post-structural theory, and situated and ecological cognition, the essay examines the pragmatics of critiques to the privileged role of school mathematics in the…

To identify diverse student strengths and to learn how teachers can build instruction on those strengths, the author and his colleagues have conducted multiple studies among students in Alaska, the mainland United States, Kenya, and other countries. In a series of studies in Alaska and Kenya, the researchers measured the adaptive cultural…