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Currently there is an attempt to combine subject-generic and subject-specific teaching frameworks to comprehensively capture teaching quality. This study explores the possibility of integrating two widely used and validated frameworks, the subject-generic Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness (DMEE) and the subject-specific Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI). Toward this end, we drew on data from 38 upper-grade primary school teachers, each observed in six mathematics lessons, which were coded using both frameworks. Data were analyzed using the Extended Logistic model of Rasch to explore whether a common scale of teaching quality with good psychometric properties could be developed. Saltus was then utilized to investigate the possibility of forming levels of effective teaching in mathematics. A common scale encompassing both subject-generic and subject-specific teaching aspects, which had good psychometric properties, was developed. The subject-generic and subject-specific teaching aspects of these frameworks were clustered in five distinct levels. With the exception of the top level that included only subject-generic aspects, all other levels included teaching aspects from both frameworks, thus providing support to the assumption that it is possible to develop levels of effective teaching that combine related subject-generic and subject-specific aspects. In discussing the study findings, we consider their implications for developing an integrated framework of teaching quality and for developing professional development programs that combine subject-generic and subject-specific teaching aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences is the property of Ankara University, Faculty of Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Questioning is one of the critical repertoires in dialogic teaching. Teachers who set dialogic classrooms need to be able to use questioning effectively. Effective questioning techniques by teachers improve teacher-student instructional dialogues in primary school mathematics classrooms. In this study, the questioning practices of three primary school mathematics teachers were analysed in their journey to incorporate dialogic teaching. Data were gathered through lesson observations, video recordings and teacher interviews. The three teachers’ classroom discourses were transcribed verbatim, and teachers’ questions were analysed to find out the types of questions, how the teachers asked the questions and the feedback given to the student’s responses. Findings from this study indicated that the three teachers used effective questioning techniques in ensuring dialogic teaching, with focusing, genuine enquiry, and closed testing questions being the most predominant. The teachers portrayed positive attitudes towards dialogic teaching and shared their comprehensive understanding of the approach.

Ongoing concern about poor learner performance in mathematics has led to wide-ranging research on the subject, globally and in South Africa. Among the remedies identified is the reformation of pre-service teacher (PST) education programmes in a way that supports the acquisition of professional skills for pre-service teachers. Developing PSTs’ reflective practice (RP) is a significant component of the desired reformation. Our research explored PSTs’ RP development in the context of video-based mathematics lesson analysis. The aim was to contribute knowledge towards strengthening mathematics PST education and to report on whether increased benefits accrued from working with PSTs in small groups, guided by an experienced facilitator, as compared to whole-class lecturing. We draw on this extended analytic framework to compare two sets of reflections written by four selected PSTs based on viewing video recordings of their own teaching. One set was written in August 2018 after the PSTs completed three lecture sessions on RP in a Mathematics Methods course. The other was written in September 2019 after the four selected PSTs participated in three small-group, facilitator-guided sessions. The findings indicate some shifts towards higher-level reflections in the latter set, although only two of the four PSTs reflected at the highest level (reflectivity) following the small-group sessions. Implications for pre-service mathematics teacher education and refinement of frameworks for delineating levels of reflection are discussed. Contribution: The research contributes to mathematics teaching through refining and extending existing models of reflective-based practice to better analyse the shifting nature of mathematics teachers’ reflections with a view to supporting improved teaching and learning.

Effective and engaging E-learning becomes necessary in unusual conditions such as COVID-19 pandemic, especially for the early stages of K-12 education. This paper proposes an adaptive personalized E-learning platform with a novel combination of Visual/Aural/Read, Write/Kinesthetic (VARK) presentation or gamification and exercises difficulty scaffolding through skipping/hiding/ reattempting. Cognitive, behavior and affective adaptation means are included in developing a dynamic learner model, which detects and corrects each student's learning style and cognitive level. As adaptation targets, the platform provides adaptive content presentation in two groups (VARK and gamification), adaptive exercises navigation and adaptive feedback. To achieve its goal, the platform utilizes a Deep Q-Network Reinforcement Learning (DQN-RL) and an online rule-based decision making implementation. The platform interfaces front-end dedicated website and back-end adaptation algorithms. An improvement in learning effectiveness is achieved comparing the post-test to the pre-test in a pilot experiment for grade 3 mathematics curriculum. Both groups witnessed academic performance and satisfaction level improvements, most importantly, for the students who started the experiment with a relatively low performance. VARK group witnessed a slightly more improvement and higher satisfaction level, since interactive activities and games in the kinesthetic presentation can provide engagement, while keeping other presentation styles available, when needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing concern about poor learner performance in mathematics has led to wide-ranging research on the subject, globally and in South Africa. Among the remedies identified is the reformation of pre-service teacher (PST) education programmes in a way that supports the acquisition of professional skills for pre-service teachers. Developing PSTs' reflective practice (RP) is a significant component of the desired reformation. Our research explored PSTs' RP development in the context of video-based mathematics lesson analysis. The aim was to contribute knowledge towards strengthening mathematics PST education and to report on whether increased benefits accrued from working with PSTs in small groups, guided by an experienced facilitator, as compared to whole-class lecturing. We draw on this extended analytic framework to compare two sets of reflections written by four selected PSTs based on viewing video recordings of their own teaching. One set was written in August 2018 after the PSTs completed three lecture sessions on RP in a Mathematics Methods course. The other was written in September 2019 after the four selected PSTs participated in three small-group, facilitator-guided sessions. The findings indicate some shifts towards higher-level reflections in the latter set, although only two of the four PSTs reflected at the highest level (reflectivity) following the small-group sessions. Implications for pre-service mathematics teacher education and refinement of frameworks for delineating levels of reflection are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Turkish Educational Sciences is the property of Journal of Turkish Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fractions remain predominantly one of the most challenging topics to teach and learn. Brunei Darussalam is no exception, where a few local researches reported that students performed poorly in fraction topics. To understand this situation, this study focuses on pupils’ understanding in solving problems on fractions. Specifically, this study investigated Year 5 pupils’ conceptual and procedural performance on the addition of fractions. This study employed a quantitative research approach involving 572 primary school children. A test consisting of six carefully planned questions on fractions was used as the research instrument. The questions were divided into two sections to test pupils’ conceptual and procedural understanding laterally. The findings from this study revealed that children performed better in the procedural than in the conceptual questions. It can be concluded that most Year 5 pupils can correctly attempt the addition of fractions via procedural approach without understanding the essential concepts involved. Recommendation for future research was also discussed.

This study sought to analyse, using the Mathematics Discourse in Instruction framework, teachers' explanatory talk when introducing standard units of length in standard 4 in Malawi. The study analysed teachers' use of content and pedagogical practices for introducing standard units of length and how that made the concept of standard units of length accessible to learners. Qualitative data was collected from two teachers from two rural schools in Malawi. Findings of the study showed that the teachers' explanatory talk included mathematical and non-mathematical language. The mathematical language included standard units of length, metre and centimetre, and the procedures for measuring and comparing lengths of objects. It was also observed that learners had access to the idea of measuring and comparing lengths of straight objects within their classrooms and were able to follow procedures for measuring lengths of objects in metres and centimetres. However, these findings also highlight the need for the teaching of length measurement that aims at providing opportunities to learners to develop the concept of units of length across varying dimensions and tasks. This study argues for the teaching of length measurement that emphasises on building learners' conceptual understanding of standard units of length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

深度學習是以培養學生高階思維和問題解決能力為核心目標的教學設計理念，與發展學生核心素養的教育觀相吻合。深度學習教學改進研究遵循教學的整體觀，指向學生的核心素養，聚焦學科本質分析和理解學科核心內容。深度學習教學改進的基本要素，包括選擇挑戰性主題、確定指向核心素養的學習目標、設計深度探究的教學活動和持續性的評價。深度學習的實現需要教師創造性的實踐，本研究以小學數學中「小數除法」為例，闡述深度學習教學改進的具體設計與實施。 Deep learning could help achieve the educational goals of nurturing students’ core competencies including cultivating students’ higher-level thinking and problem-solving ability. This paper reports a research on designing primary arithmetic teaching conducive to deep learning. The teaching design takes into consideration of students’ holistic learning outcomes as well as the nature of the subject. It is developed through analysing learning theories on core competencies, the core subject knowledge structure and the key concepts of the subject. The basic elements of the teaching include selecting challenging topics, identifying learning objectives that point to core competencies, and designing inquiry learning activities and continuous evaluation. The realization of deep learning requires the creative practice of teachers. Using the topic of decimal fraction division as an example, this paper shows the concrete design and implementation of the teaching conducive to deep learning.

The aim of the study is to investigate the possibility for fourth grade students to use the adapted Fangcheng method as a tool for solving word problems. In the first part of the paper we give an overview of the Ancient Chinese Fangcheng method for solving systems of linear equations. The second part consists of the research methodology, results and discussion. We used the quasi-experimental one-group design with post-test only. The sample included 48 fourth grade students. The research had two phases, and at the end of each phase post-tests were conducted. In the first phase, all students participated in the intervention program, while the second phase included only those students who performed well on the first post-test. The study results indicate that students who show greater interest in mathematics successfully adopt procedures necessary for the performance of the Fangcheng method. The findings of the study cannot be applied to all students considering the fact that there are certain limitations, such as a small sample size and quasi-experimental design. Therefore, some further research should be performed with a larger sample of students. However, since there are not many empirical researches which explore the effects of applying the history of mathematics in math teaching, we believe that our study contributes to the field.