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The intention of the study was to examine the effects of a fraction intervention in a whole-class environment. The intervention aimed to enhance students' conceptual fraction knowledge, with a major focus on fraction magnitude understanding. This study included 120 fifth-grade students in standard classroom settings. Utilizing a cluster randomized controlled trial design, students were divided into either an intervention group (n = 64) or a control group (n = 56). Students in the intervention condition received a series of seven 35-minute lessons. Students in the control condition received "treatment as usual". Both post-test and delayed post-test results revealed that students in the intervention group performed significantly better than those in the control group on fraction concepts, with a stronger effect in measurement aspects compared to part–whole aspects. The intervention group also outperformed the control group on fraction arithmetic on both post-tests, while no significant difference was observed on fraction word problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School mathematics is not universal. It produces and is produced by social norms. What is considered as normatively appropriate school mathematics may vary when immigrant students (re)produce school mathematics in transitions between school mathematical practices at home and at school. In this study, one group of primary school students and two groups of secondary school students were interviewed to investigate their experiences with school mathematics in transitions. In contrast to some previous studies, the present study reveals instances where students positioned their parents as mathematically knowledgeable. To some students, it was important to know mathematical concepts in the mother tongue to be positioned as knowledgeable in mathematical conversations at home. This suggests that pedagogical practices should not only facilitate the transition of students’ everyday experiences into mathematics classrooms but also explore how school mathematics can be transitioned out of school, particularly considering transnationalities where ways of knowing transcend national boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in solving real-world problems is challenging. To tackle this challenge, a project-based learning approach that integrates robots with cost-effective self-made toys to problem-solving was adopted to assist rural primary school students to apply STEM skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the project-based learning approach which includes lecturing and hands-on activities on primary school students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes. An experiment was conducted with 25 primary school students who voluntarily participated in a STEM summer-camp programme. Students were asked to assemble a paper house equipped with an IoT control module and LED light switches, and write and edit robot scripts to produce a robot-based storytelling narrative using the paper house they made as a context. The results show that the project-based learning approach was an effective approach for cultivating primary school students' STEM knowledge and skills as evidenced from the post-written test. The relationships between the students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes were also confirmed by a clustering analysis. Students who had higher learning attitudes also achieved higher STEM learning outcomes; the findings are also supported by the feedback from the open-ended questionnaire items. This study suggests that integrating low-cost self-made toys and robots in project-based learning activities is an effective and practical approach to enhance primary school students' learning outcomes and learning attitudes in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participating in classroom mathematics conversations, particularly engaging with the opinions of others, can improve learners' mathematical comprehension. Teachers can use a variety of invitation and follow-up moves to encourage student engagement. The study aimed to explore teacher follow-up on learners' initial responses to teacher questions and building on learner ideas in Grade 9 mathematics classrooms. A qualitative approach and descriptive case study design were utilised. Data were collected from three schools in the same circuit in South Africa through classroom lesson observations, face-to-face teacher interviews and researchers' field notes. Three Grade 9 mathematics teachers, one from each school, were purposively selected, and the selected teachers' already established Grade 9 classes, with a maximum of 30 learners each (owing to the COVID-19 health protocol), were automatically involved. Cognitively guided instruction, a learner-centred approach that uses social constructivism as a research paradigm, guided this study. The exploration was supplemented by Brodie's conceptual framework on teacher follow-up moves. The findings revealed that the three teachers followed up on learner contributions and used different follow-up moves, namely insert, elicit, press, maintain and confirm. The study showed hybrid teacher moves. Although more teacher moves were skewed towards elicit and insert, which are closer to traditional practices, there is an indication of moving towards the press, maintain and confirm, which are reform-oriented moves. In addition to these moves identified by Brodie, acknowledging or praising the learner for responding was another move that emerged in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated direct as well as indirect relations between children's emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies), behavior regulation, and mathematics achievement in a longitudinal study during the transition from primary to secondary school in Germany. Participants were 76 primary school students attending grade four at Time 1, of whom 51 participated again as secondary school students attending grade five at Time 2, as well as children's mothers and teachers. Anger- and avoidant-oriented emotion regulation strategies at Time 1 were negatively associated to behavior regulation at Time 2. Behavior regulation at Time 2 was positively related to mathematics achievement at Time 2. There were no direct relations between emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies) at Time 1 and mathematics achievement at Time 2. However, we found significant indirect negative effects between emotion regulation (anger- and avoidant-oriented strategies) at Time 1 and mathematics achievement at Time 2 via behavior regulation at Time 1. Thus, anger- and avoidant-oriented emotion regulation at Time 1 indirectly affected mathematics achievement negatively at Time 2 via behavior regulation at Time 2. This study confirms the complex structure of self-regulatory processes and underlines the importance of specific emotion regulation strategies for mathematics achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: Children are increasingly using touchscreen technologies at home, which has become a recurring feature within their classroom too. Research has investigated the potential effect of using computer-based tests to assess pupils' performance rather than traditional paper tests. An agreement has still not been formed about the impact of the mode of assessment on pupils' mathematical test scores. A mixed methods design was employed to explore the impact of the testing on young children's mathematical test scores. Thirty-seven children 4-7-years old were recruited from a primary school in England with their parents. A mathematical test on paper and an iPad was administered to each participant which was accompanied by an interview. Data regarding the use of touchscreens at home were explored with an on-line parental questionnaire. The results showed that gender and test type impact mathematical test scores, with females performing the best on the iPad test. The findings also suggested that as tablet usage increased at home, iPad mathematical test scores decreased. The interviews revealed that children rely on different strategies when resolving mathematical problems. Practice or Policy: Digital testing may enable a better investigation of mathematical skills in the first years of schooling and of differences between males and females' responses to solving mathematical questions, which then could be used to tailor the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]