Mathematics education research in undergraduate mathematics has increased significantly in the last decade and shows no signs of abating in the near future. Thus far, this research has often been associated with innovations in curriculum such as calculus reform, statistics education, and the use of computational and graphing technology in instruction. Mathematics education research, carefully conducted, is something far more fundamental and widely useful than might be implied by its use by the advocates of innovation in undergraduate mathematics education. Most simply, mathematics education research is inquiry by carefully developed research methods aimed at providing evidence about the nature and relationships of many mathematics learning and teaching phenomena. It seeks to clarify the phenomena, illuminate them, explain how they are related to other phenomena, and explain how this may be related to undergraduate mathematics course organization and teaching. This book-the collaborative effort of a research mathematician, mathematics education researchers who work in a research mathematics department and a professional librarian-introduces research mathematicians to education research. The work presents a non-jargon introduction for educational research, surveys the more commonly used research methods, along with their rationales and assumptions, and provides background and careful discussions to help research mathematicians read or listen to education research more critically. This guide is of practical interest to university-based research mathematicians, as it introduces the methodology of quantitative and qualitative research in education; provides critical guidelines for assessing the reliability and validity of mathematics education research; and explains how to use online database resources to locate education research. The book will also be valuable to graduate students in mathematics who are planning academic careers, and to mathematics department chairs and their deans.

This book explores new trends and developments in mathematics education research related to proof and proving, the implications of these trends and developments for theory and practice, and directions for future research. With contributions from researchers working in twelve different countries, the book brings also an international perspective to the discussion and debate of the state of the art in this important area. The book is organized around the following four themes, which reflect the breadth of issues addressed in the book: • Theme 1: Epistemological issues related to proof and proving; • Theme 2: Classroom-based issues related to proof and proving; • Theme 3: Cognitive and curricular issues related to proof and proving; and • Theme 4: Issues related to the use of examples in proof and proving. Under each theme there are four main chapters and a concluding chapter offering a commentary on the theme overall.

This open access book is based on selected presentations from Topic Study Group 21: Mathematical Applications and Modelling in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME 13), held in Hamburg, Germany on July 24–31, 2016. It contributes to the theory, research and teaching practice concerning this key topic by taking into account the importance of relations between mathematics and the real world. Further, the book addresses the “balancing act” between developing students’ modelling skills on the one hand, and using modelling to help them learn mathematics on the other, which arises from the integration of modelling into classrooms. The contributions, prepared by authors from 9 countries, reflect the spectrum of international debates on the topic, and the examples presented span schooling from years 1 to 12, teacher education, and teaching modelling at the tertiary level. In addition the book highlights professional learning and development for in-service teachers, particularly in systems where the introduction of modelling into curricula means reassessing how mathematics is taught. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers and teacher educators in mathematics education, as well as pre-service teachers and school and university educators

This book provides a collection of chapters from prominent mathematics educators in which they each discuss vital issues in mathematics education and what they see as viable directions research in mathematics education could take to address these issues. All of these issues are related to learning and teaching mathematics. The book consists of nine chapters, seven from each of seven scholars who participated in an invited lecture series (Scholars in Mathematics Education) at Brigham Young University, and two chapters from two other scholars who are writing reaction papers that look across the first seven chapters. The recommendations take the form of broad, overarching principles and ideas that cut across the field. In this sense, this book differs from classical “research agenda projects,” which seek to outline specific research questions that the field should address around a central topic.

Every four years, beginning in 1984, the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) produces a review of Australasian research in mathematics education. The authors of the chapters in this volume have summarised and critiqued research conducted during the period 2004-2007.

The audience remains much the same as for the 1992 Handbook, namely, mathematics education researchers and other scholars conducting work in mathematics education. This group includes college and university faculty, graduate students, investigators in research and development centers, and staff members at federal, state, and local agencies that conduct and use research within the discipline of mathematics. The intent of the authors of this volume is to provide useful perspectives as well as pertinent information for conducting investigations that are informed by previous work. The Handbook should also be a useful textbook for graduate research seminars. In addition to the audience mentioned above, the present Handbook contains chapters that should be relevant to four other groups: teacher educators, curriculum developers, state and national policy makers, and test developers and others involved with assessment. Taken as a whole, the chapters reflects the mathematics education research community's willingness to accept the challenge of helping the public understand what mathematics education research is all about and what the relevance of their research fi ndings might be for those outside their immediate community.

This book conceptualizes the nature of mathematical modeling in the early grades from both teaching and learning perspectives. Mathematical modeling provides a unique opportunity to engage elementary students in the creative process of mathematizing their world. A diverse community of internationally known researchers and practitioners share studies that advance the field with respect to the following themes: The Nature of Mathematical Modeling in the Early Grades Content Knowledge and Pedagogy for Mathematical Modeling Student Experiences as Modelers Teacher Education and Professional Development in Modeling Experts in the field provide commentaries that extend and connect ideas presented across chapters. This book is an invaluable resource in illustrating what all young children can achieve with mathematical modeling and how we can support teachers and families in this important work.

Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and written by leading experts in the field of mathematics education, the Handbook is specifically designed to make important, vital scholarship accessible to mathematics education professors, graduate students, educational researchers, staff development directors, curriculum supervisors, and teachers. The Handbook provides a framework for understanding the evolution of the mathematics education research field against the backdrop of well-established conceptual, historical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives. It is an indispensable working tool for everyone interested in pursuing research in mathematics education as the references for each of the Handbook's twenty-nine chapters are complete resources for both current and past work in that particular area.

Mathematics education research has blossomed into many different areas which we can see in the programmes of the ICME conferences as well as in the various survey articles in the Handbooks. However, all of these lines of research are trying to grapple with a common problem, the complexity of the process of learning mathematics.