• Why do some students achieve more than others? • Do we have to wait until pupils are "ready"? • Can children discover math for themselves? • Does language interfere with the learning of math? This classic text, written from the viewpoint of the math teacher, provides answers to these and many more questions. Each chapter explores a particular issue that illustrates the interaction between theory and practice. New chapters have been included on cognition, pattern, and ICT.

Learning Mathematics brings together a collection of interrelated and forward-looking chapters by internationally recognized experts that explores changes in the theories and practices of learning (and teaching) mathematics. The authors reject a traditional, transmission view of the teaching of mathematics which has proved so ineffective for learning. In its place they offer information gathered from research and from practice about effects on the learners seeking to create and negotiate meaning. Learners are presented as actively attempting to make sense of the mathematics they encounter, and learners, teachers and researchers are offered examples of ho such sense-making activities, incorporated into mathematics classrooms, impact on coming to know. The book celebrates both diversity, in the range of different perspectives, contributions and topics, and unity, in the linking chapters and themes, It will be fascinating reading for those mathematics educators who are eager to engage with a socio-cultural perspective in order to better understand the complexity of learning mathematics.

This book explores the factors that influence young people's learning of mathematics. Focusing on the complexity of mathematics teaching and learning, each chapter considers different aspects of this process, taking a holistic approach. Rich examples from

This book is a selection of 15 papers developed by participants in ICME 13 held in Hamburg , presenting insights from the latest research on the andragogy of adult and lifelong learning of mathematics. It also investigates open questions, such as numeracy and mathematics skills, social and psychological influences on learning environments, as well as economic and political demands. The chapters offer examples, while at the same time highlighting important directions for further research. The book is divided into four parts: The first section provides an overview on the concept of “numeracy”, and the second focuses on adult students who are learning mathematics; the third part presents a teachers’ focus and the final part covers overarching themes. The book is of interest to classroom teachers, university teacher educators, and professional development providers.

At a time when the importance of lifelong education is becoming recognised around the world, this is the first book to explore an important but hitherto neglected area: adult mathematics education. This book is about adults learning mathematics wherever and in whatever circumstances they do so. It brings together researchers in the field and aims to lay the foundations for study and further research and practice in this fast-developing area. It aims to situate research and practice in adults learning mathematics within the wider field of lifelong learning and lifelong education and to be accessible both to the specialist and to the general adult reader. The book features a comprehensive review of the field which sets the scene for sections on: Perspectives on Research on Adults Learning Mathematics; Adults, Mathematics, Culture, and Society; Adults, Mathematics, and Work; and Perspectives in Teaching Adults Mathematics. Topics covered include: mathematics and common sense; statistical literacy and numeracy; new theories on learning mathematics; mathematical competences for the workplace; ethnomathematics; and the training of tutors.

This book explores terminology, frameworks, and research being conducted worldwide on virtual manipulatives. It brings together international authors who provide their perspectives on virtual manipulatives in research and teaching. By defining terminology, explaining conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and reporting research, the authors provide a comprehensive foundation on the study and use of virtual manipulatives for mathematics teaching and learning. This foundation provides a common way for researchers to communicate about virtual manipulatives and build on the major works that have been conducted on this topic. By discussing these big ideas, the book advances knowledge for future research on virtual manipulatives as these dynamic tools move from computer platforms to hand-held, touch-screen, and augmented platforms.

The combined impact of linguistic, cultural, educational and cognitive factors on mathematics learning is considered in this unique book. By uniting the diverse research models and perspectives of these fields, the contributors describe how language and cognitive factors can influence mathematical learning, thinking and problem solving. The authors contend that cognitive skills are heavily dependent upon linguistic skills and both are critical to the representational knowledge intimately linked to school achievement in mathematics.

This single-volume reference is designed for readers and researchers investigating national and international aspects of mathematics education at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. It contains more than 400 entries, arranged alphabetically by headings of greatest pertinence to mathematics education. The scope is comprehensive, encompassing all major areas of mathematics education, including assessment, content and instructional procedures, curriculum, enrichment, international comparisons, and psychology of learning and instruction.

This book is the result of research from over fifteen countries, asking which background and environmental factors influence achievement in mathematics and science. This research is based on data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which was conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1995 and 1998. In many countries researchers have started secondary analysis of the data in search for relationships between contextual factors and achievement. In these analyses two different approaches can be distinguished, which can be characterised by the metaphors of ‘fishing’ and ‘hunting’. In the ‘fishing’ approach, researchers begin with an open mind, considering all possible context variables as potentially influential. Applying analysis techniques such as regression analysis, Lisrel, PLS, HLM, and MLN, they then identify important factors within their countries or across a number of countries. In the ‘hunting’ approach, researchers hypothesise certain context variables and trace the effect of these variables on mathematics and/or science achievement.