Mathematical reasoning in calculus textbook exercises

The aim of this paper is to study some of the strategies that are possible to use in order to solve the exercises in undergraduate calculus textbooks. It is described in detail how most exercises may be solved by mathematically superficial strategies, often without actually considering the core mathematics of the book section in question.     

Substituting open educational resources for commercial curriculum materials: effects on student mathematics achievement in elementary schools

Open Educational Resources (OER) have the potential to replace commercial learning materials in education. An empirical examination of this potential was conducted, comparing the end-of-year mathematics test results of 12,110 elementary school students clustered within 95 schools from five school districts in the state of Washington in the United States of America. Of this group, 6796 students used open learning materials, and 5314 used commercial educational resources. When three years of test scores were considered, there were no statistically significant differences in the exam scores of students who used open versus commercial curriculum materials. The lack of statistical significance may have practical significance, demonstrating that OER can replace conventional materials without impacting student performance, while potentially reducing costs and allowing for local modification.     

中英分析化学教材的几点差异

以常见的中英文分析化学教材为例,探讨中英文教材之间的几点差异,为实行分析化学双语或全英语教学的院系选择教材提供参考,同时为编写和国际接轨的教材提供依据。     

固体物理学发展简史

固体物理学研究多体问题,是物理学的重要分支,涉及面极其广泛,也是包括材料科学等在内的多个技术学科的基础。本文论述了固体物理学的发展简史,包括初期发展史、对热性质研 究、魏德曼–弗兰兹定律、晶体微观几何结构的研究历程、自由电子气体模型、固体能带论、对固 体磁性的研究、信息时代、中国固体物理学的发展、固体物理学教材等多个部分,简述了固体物 理学发展中的大事件和具有较大影响力的科学家及其贡献。     

国外高分子化学英文教材研究

调查了国外近20余年来出版的与高分子化学相关的英文教材。介绍了这些英文教材的概况以及我国对这些教材的引进情况,并分析了这些教材的主要特点。这将对我们选取适当的高分子化学英文教材用于课堂教学以及编写高分子化学中文教材具有有益的启示。     

Cognitive opportunities in textbooks: the cases of grade four and eight textbooks in Israel

The cognitive domain in mathematics, defined as thinking and understanding in the process of learning mathematics, is a main focus of curricula in many countries. This study explores breadth and depth of understanding as addressed in mathematics textbooks certified as aligned to Israeli national mathematics curricula. We compare opportunities for students to engage with mathematics requiring different types and levels of understanding provided by the tasks in mathematics textbooks. Comparison of two fourth grade and two eighth grade mathematics textbooks showed significant differences in the opportunities to learn in the cognitive domain that each provides. These differences can be quantified; the quantification defines the cognitive demand of the textbook. The cognitive demand of the four textbooks varies. This reveals a potential source of inequity in students’ opportunities to learn mathematics. Results should prompt discussion around standardization and alignment of textbooks to the cognitive goals of the curriculum.     

药学专业无机化学实验教学的改革与实践

为提高无机化学实验教学质量,从教材建设、教学手段及教学方法等方面进行了无机化学实验的教学改革与实践.上述改革和实践已经初见成效.     

Understanding and supporting teacher horizon knowledge around limits: a framework for evaluating textbooks for teachers

As part of recent scrutiny of teacher capacity, the question of teachers’ content knowledge of higher level mathematics emerges as important to the field of mathematics education. Elementary teachers in North America and some other countries tend to be subject generalists, yet it appears that some higher level mathematics background may be appropriate for teachers. An initial examination of a small sample of textbooks for teachers suggested the existence of a wide array of treatments and depth and quality of mathematics coverage. Based on the literature, a new framework was created to assess the mathematical quality of treatments for both specialized knowledge and horizon knowledge in mathematics textbooks for teachers. The framework was tested on a sample topic of the circle area formula derivation, chosen because it draws heavily on both specialized and horizon knowledge. The framework may contribute to similar analyses of other topics in a broader range of resources, in the overall quest to better describe the details of what constitutes appropriate mathematics horizon knowledge for teachers.     

Preservice elementary teachers’ knowledge for teaching the associative property of multiplication: A preliminary analysis

This study examines preservice elementary teachers’ (PTs) knowledge for teaching the associative property (AP) of multiplication. Results reveal that PTs hold a common misconception between the AP and commutative property (CP). Most PTs in our sample were unable to use concrete contexts (e.g., pictorial representations and word problems) to illustrate AP of multiplication conceptually, particularly due to a fragile understanding of the meaning of multiplication. The study also revealed that the textbooks used by PTs at both the university and elementary levels do not provide conceptual support for teaching AP of multiplication. Implications of findings are discussed.