This volume reflects an appreciation of the interactive roles of subject matter, teacher, student, and technologies in designing classrooms that promote understanding of geometry and space. Although these elements of geometry education are mutually constituted, the book is organized to highlight, first, the editors' vision of a general geometry education; second, the development of student thinking in everyday and classroom contexts; and third, the role of technologies. Rather than looking to high school geometry as the locus--and all too often, the apex--of geometric reasoning, the contributors to this volume suggest that reasoning about space can and should be successfully integrated with other forms of mathematics, starting at the elementary level and continuing through high school. Reintegrating spatial reasoning into the mathematical mainstream--indeed, placing it at the core of K-12 mathematics environments that promote learning with understanding--will mean increased attention to problems in modeling, structure, and design and reinvigoration of traditional topics such as measure, dimension, and form. Further, the editors' position is that the teaching of geometry and spatial visualization in school should not be compressed into a characterization of Greek geometry, but should include attention to contributions to the mathematics of space that developed subsequent to those of the Greeks. This volume is essential reading for those involved in mathematics education at all levels, including university faculty, researchers, and graduate students.

Measuring and Visualizing Space in Elementary Mathematics Learning explores the development of elementary students’ understanding of the mathematics of measure, and demonstrates how measurement can serve as an anchor for supporting a deeper understanding of number operations and rational numbers. The concept of measurement is centrally implicated in a number of mathematical operations, yet is not often given the placement it deserves in the elementary mathematics curriculum. By drawing on K-5 classroom research, authors Lehrer and Schauble have been able to articulate a learning progression that describes benchmarks of student learning about measure in length, angle, area, volume, and rational number, exploring related concepts, classroom experiences, and instructional practices at each stage. Offering a unique, research driven resource for helping students develop a deep understanding of measurement to further enhance mathematical understanding, as well as further learning in other STEM disciplines; the book will be relevant for scholars, teacher educators, and specialists in math education. The book is accompanied by online resources developed for practitioners, including instructional guides, examples of student thinking, and other teacher-focused materials, helping clarify how to bring concepts of measure and rational number to life in classrooms.

This book explores the option of building on symbolizing, modeling and tool use as personally meaningful activities of students. It discusses the dimension of setting: varying from the study of informal, spontaneous activity of students, to an explicit focus on instructional design, and goals and effects of instruction; and the dimension of the theoretical framework of the researcher: varying from constructivism, to activity theory, cognitive psychology and instructional-design theory.

This state-of-the-art Handbook brings together important mathematics education research that makes a difference in both theory and practice--research that: anticipates problems and needed knowledge before they become impediments to progress; interprets future-oriented problems into researchable issues; presents the implications of research and theory development in forms that are useful to practitioners and policymakers; and facilitates the development of research communities to focus on neglected priorities or strategic opportunities. The volume represents a genuine attempt by contributors from around the world to advance the discipline, rather than simply review what has been done and what exists. The Handbook was developed in response to a number of major global catalysts for change, including the impact of national and international mathematics comparative assessment studies; the social, cultural, economic, and political influences on mathematics education and research; the influence of progressively sophisticated and available technology; and the increasing globalization of mathematics education and research. From these catalysts have emerged specific priority themes and issues for mathematics education research in the 21st century. Three key themes were identified for attention in this volume: life-long democratic access to powerful mathematical ideas; advances in research methodologies; and influences of advanced technologies. Each of these themes is examined in terms of learners, teachers, and learning contexts, with theory development as an important component of all these aspects. Dynamic and forward looking, the Handbook of International Research in Mathematics Education is distinguished by its focus on new and emerging theoretical models, perspectives, and research methodologies; its uniformly high standard of scholarship; and its emphasis on the international nature of mathematics education research. It is an essential volume for all researchers, professionals, and students interested in mathematics education research in particular and, more generally, in international developments and future directions in the broad field of educational research.

Includes established theories and cutting-edge developments. Presents the work of an international group of experts. Presents the nature, origin, implications, an future course of major unresolved issues in the area.

Early childhood mathematics is vitally important for young children's present and future educational success. Research demonstrates that virtually all young children have the capability to learn and become competent in mathematics. Furthermore, young children enjoy their early informal experiences with mathematics. Unfortunately, many children's potential in mathematics is not fully realized, especially those children who are economically disadvantaged. This is due, in part, to a lack of opportunities to learn mathematics in early childhood settings or through everyday experiences in the home and in their communities. Improvements in early childhood mathematics education can provide young children with the foundation for school success. Relying on a comprehensive review of the research, Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood lays out the critical areas that should be the focus of young children's early mathematics education, explores the extent to which they are currently being incorporated in early childhood settings, and identifies the changes needed to improve the quality of mathematics experiences for young children. This book serves as a call to action to improve the state of early childhood mathematics. It will be especially useful for policy makers and practitioners-those who work directly with children and their families in shaping the policies that affect the education of young children.

In this important new book for pre- and in-service teachers, early math experts Douglas Clements and Julie Sarama show how "learning trajectories" help teachers become more effective professionals. By opening up new windows to seeing young children and the inherent delight and curiosity behind their mathematical reasoning, learning trajectories ultimately make teaching more joyous. They help teachers understand the varying level of knowledge and thinking of their classes and the individuals within them as key in serving the needs of all children. In straightforward, no-nonsense language, this book summarizes what is known about how children learn mathematics, and how to build on what they know to realize more effective teaching practice. It will help teachers understand the learning trajectories of early mathematics and become quintessential professionals.

IMPACT (Interweaving Mathematics Pedagogy and Content for Teaching) is an exciting new series of texts for teacher education which aims to advance the learning and teaching of mathematics by integrating mathematics content with the broader research and theoretical base of mathematics education. The Learning and Teaching of Geometry in Secondary Schools reviews past and present research on the teaching and learning of geometry in secondary schools and proposes an approach for design research on secondary geometry instruction. Areas covered include: teaching and learning secondary geometry through history; the representations of geometric figures; students’ cognition in geometry; teacher knowledge, practice and, beliefs; teaching strategies, instructional improvement, and classroom interventions; research designs and problems for secondary geometry. Drawing on a team of international authors, this new text will be essential reading for experienced teachers of mathematics, graduate students, curriculum developers, researchers, and all those interested in exploring students’ study of geometry in secondary schools.

Engaging Young Children in Mathematics: Standards for Early Childhood Mathematics Education brings together the combined wisdom of a diverse group of experts involved with early childhood mathematics. The book originates from the landmark 2000 Conference on Standards for Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten Mathematics Education, attended by representatives from almost every state developing standards for young children's mathematics; federal government officials; mathematicians; mathematics educators; researchers from mathematics education, early childhood education, and psychology; curriculum developers; teachers; policymakers; and professionals from organizations such as the National Conference of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The main goal of the Conference was to work collectively to help those responsible for framing and implementing early childhood mathematics standards. Although it has its roots in the Conference, the expanded scope of the standards and recommendations covered in this book includes the full range of kindergarten to grade 2. The volume is organized into two main parts and an online appendix (http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/org/conference/). Part One, Major Themes and Recommendations, offers a framework for thinking about pre-kindergarten - grade 2 mathematics education and specific recommendations. Part Two, Elaboration of Major Themes and Recommendations, provides substantive detail regarding young students' understandings of mathematical ideas. Each Part includes five parallel subsections: "Standards in Early Childhood Education"; "Math Standards and Guidelines"; "Curriculum, Learning, Teaching, and Assessment"; "Professional Development"; and "Toward the Future: Implementation and Policy." As a whole the book: * presents comprehensive summaries of research that provide specific guidelines for standards, curriculum, and teaching; * takes the recent reports and recommendations for early childhood mathematics education to the next level; * integrates practical details and research throughout; and * provides a succinct, but thorough review of research on the topics, sequences, and learning trajectories that children can and should learn at each of their first years of life, with specific developmental guidelines that suggest appropriate content for each topic for each year from 2-year-olds to 7-year-olds. This is an indispensable volume for mathematics educators, researchers, curriculum developers, teachers and policymakers, including those who create standards, scope and sequences, and curricula for young children and professional teacher development materials, and students in mathematics education, early childhood trainers, teacher educators, and faculty in mathematics education.

Investigators have moved back and forth between design efforts and basic studies in cognition to improve both application and fundamental knowledge. This volume's theme is this interaction between practice and science with the opportunity for reflecting on findings in order to understand them and suggesting improved forms of application and their underlying explanation. This is seen in various arenas including theory-based computer-assisted instruction for teaching mathematics, the design of communities of learning in elementary schools, teaching in the context of problem-solving situations and reasoning with models, self-explanation as a highly effective learning activity, conceptual change in medical training and health education, and workplace training in electronic troubleshooting. The results of extensive long-term experience and analysis in each of these areas are insightfully reported by the well-known contributors to this volume. Special features of this fifth edition include: * The work of eminent cognitive scientists in the design and evaluation of educational and training environments to increase current understanding of learning and development, as this understanding is applied to innovative instructional programs and teaching methods. * A description of learning theory and principles as well as implications and examples on research and development on educational application. * A presentation on the 10-year change in perspective on research and development in problem solving environments that invite inquiry about academic information and skills in the context of instruction of elementary school children. * An innovative approach to math and science instruction in which teaching is oriented around constructing, evaluating, and revising models. * An examination of the process of self-explaining, which involves explaining to one's self in an attempt to make sense of a new situation. * A description of a long-term program of cognitive task analysis and instructional design on problem solving in the operation of complex equipment. * An investigation on the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills and the understanding of biomedical concepts in both professional medicine and the health practices of the lay population.