Teachers’ Activities in Technology-Based Mathematics Lessons

This paper focuses on high school mathematics teachers and what they do when they use digital technology in their lessons. It is essentially a discursive paper but it uses data from a project on teachers using technology to illustrate points. The main aim of the paper is to present an holistic account of factors influencing teachers’ practice. A secondary aim is to present the integration of technology into lessons as a complex issue. Saxe’s four parameter model of goal-linked practice is employed to show how different dimensions of teachers’ activities interrelate in this complex undertaking. The paper ends with a consideration of approaches related to Saxe’s model.     

Preservice teachers’ pictorial strategies for a multistep multiplicative fraction problem

Previous research has documented that preservice teachers (PSTs) struggle with understanding fraction concepts and operations, and misconceptions often stem from their understanding of the referent whole. This study expands research on PSTs’ understanding of wholes by investigating pictorial strategies that 85 PSTs constructed for a multistep fraction task in a multiplicative context. The results show that many PSTs were able to construct valid pictorial strategies, and the strategies were widely diverse with respect to how they made sense of an unknown referent whole of a fraction in multiple steps, how they represented the wholes in their drawings, in which order they did multiple steps, and which type of model they used (area or set). Based on their wide range of pictorial strategies, we discuss potential benefits of PSTs’ construction of their own representations for a word problem in developing problem solving skills.     

Teachers' Understandings of Realistic Contexts to Capitalize on Students' Prior Knowledge

The theory of realistic mathematics education establishes that framing mathematics problems in realistic contexts can provide opportunities for guided reinvention. Using data from a study group, I examine geometry teachers' perspectives regarding realistic contexts during a lesson study cycle. I ask the following. (a) What are the participants' perspectives regarding realistic contexts that elicit students' prior knowledge? (b) How are the participants' perspectives of realistic contexts related to teachers' instructional obligations? (c) How do the participants draw upon these perspectives when designing a lesson? The participants identified five characteristics that are needed for realistic contexts: providing entry points to mathematics, using “catchy” and “youthful” contexts, selecting personal contexts for the students, using contexts that are not “too fake” or “forced,” and connecting to the lesson's mathematical content. These characteristics largely relate to the institutional, interpersonal, and individual obligations with some connections with the disciplinary obligation. The participants considered these characteristics when identifying a realistic context for a problem‐based lesson. The context promoted mathematical connections. In addition, the teachers varied the context to increase the relevance for their students. The study has implications for supporting teachers' implementation of problem‐based instruction by attending to teachers' perspectives regarding the obligations shaping their work.     

Values in preservice mathematics teachers’ discussions of the Body Mass Index - A critical perspective

This article explores the values that come to the fore when preservice mathematics teachers (PTs) ¹ engage in critical discussions about the role of mathematical models in society. The specific model that was discussed was the Body Mass Index (BMI) ². From the analysis of the PTs’ discussions of the BMI from a mathematical and societal point of view several mathematical and mathematics educational values were identified such as openness, rationalism, progress, reasoning, evaluating, and problematizing the instrumental understanding of mathematics. In addition, critical thinking about mathematics in society as emphasized in curricula in the three countries involved in the study, was identified with four categories of complementary pairs. Knowing the mathematical and mathematics educational values underpinning PTs’ discussions and their connection to critical thinking is important for successfully engaging with the role of mathematics in society.     

Urban Elementary STEM Initiative

The new standards for K–12 science education suggest that student learning should be more integrated and should focus on crosscutting concepts and core ideas from the areas of physical science, life science, Earth/space science, and engineering/technology. This paper describes large‐scale, urban elementary‐focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) collaboration between a large urban school district, various STEM‐focused community stakeholders, and a research‐focused private university. The collaboration includes the development of an integrated STEM curriculum for grade K–5 with accompanying teacher professional development. This mixed‐methodology study describes findings from focus group interviews and a survey of teachers from Title I elementary schools. Findings suggest the importance of the following critical features of professional development: (a) coherence, (b) content focus, (c) active learning, (d) collective participation, and (e) duration to the success of large‐scale STEM urban elementary school reform     

高师化学教育中实施论证式教学探索

论证式教学是将科学领域的论证引入科学教学活动中的一种新型探究教学方式,是当前国际科学教育研究的热点之一。在高师教育中融入论证式教学,能增进师范生对科学本质的理解,发展科学论证的能力,为他们以后实施论证式教学奠定基础。以化学学科为例,应用论证式教学的策略主要有创设开放问题情境,整合相异构想研究和提供论证评价框架等。     

中学化学教师教学用书教学属性的调查研究

以在职高中化学教师为研究对象,采用问卷调查化学教师教学用书教学属性的使用现状。研究发现,教师教学用书在一线教师中的使用频次和深广度不高,其中女教师和新手型教师相对使用频次高。教师教学用书对教师的促进作用持中等水平,其中较好地促进了教师观念的提升。教师教学用书的内容是影响其使用的主要因素,而教师的教育理念、教研水平和知识水平是其次。基于此,从内容编写角度给出一些建议。     

Strobovideolaryngoscopic Findings in Singing Teachers

Professional voice users often present to otolaryngologists and laryngologists with specific voice complaints. The contributions of pathologic lesions to the patients' vocal complaints are not always clear on examination, and often, premorbid examinations of the larynx are not available for review. This study examines the incidence of laryngeal pathology among singing teachers. At a national convention of singing teachers, volunteers were recruited for a "free strobovideolaryngoscopic examination." All volunteers completed a detailed questionnaire of their vocal and medical history and underwent strobovideolaryngoscopic examination. Strobovideolaryngoscopic examinations were completed in 20 volunteers, 7 of whom had voice complaints and 13 of whom perceived their voices to be normal. Vocal fold masses were common among the asymptomatic singing teachers. Evidence of reflux laryngitis was a common finding among both symptomatic and asymptomatic singing teachers. Asymmetries in vocal fold hypomobility were more common among those with voice complaints than was the presence of vocal fold masses in the population studied.     

人口与基础教育发展趋势预测模型研究及应用

以西藏人口与基础教育发展为研究对象,应用灰色系统理论建立了一个新的出生人口预测模型,还分别建立了小学和初中招生数、分年级在校生规模、在校生总量的预测模型,并结合近几年西藏自治区教育统计结果,给出了应用实例.