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Eric.ed.gov – “With Percentages the 100 Is Always in the Denominator”: From the Field to Pre-Service Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The ubiquity of the subject of percentages in our everyday life demands that math teachers and pre-service math teachers demonstrate a profound knowledge and thorough understanding of the concept of percentages. This work, which originated from one specific lesson in an 8th grade math class, studies the conceptual understanding and problem-solving strategies of 17 pre-service math teachers. We exhibit and analyze the pre-service teachers’ misconceptions and their inefficient or false problem-solving strategies. We identify two main misconceptions. The first we name “In percentage problem is 100 always the denominator?” and the second “One can handle percentage problems using the same techniques as in numerical problems” (or Over-transferring of numerical problems). We hypothesize reasons and explanations for these misconceptions. The frequent use of percentages in everyday life and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Analysis of the Problems Posed by Pre-Service Primary School Teachers with the Context of Environment

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The current study is an inter-disciplinary study in which the problems posed by pre-service primary school teachers were analyzed within the context of both environment and mathematical processes. A total of 75 pre-service primary school teachers participated in the current study designed according to the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods. The data were collected through the math problems posed by the pre-service teachers with the context of the environment. The environmental contexts were analyzed by using the content analysis method while the problem posing processes were analyzed through the descriptive analysis approach. The results of the analyses have revealed that the pre-service teachers generally preferred to include more than one environmental context in the problems they posed and from among these contexts, the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Math Academy: Let’s Go to the Mall! Explorations in Combinatorics. Book 5: Supplemental Math Materials for Grades 3-8

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Created by teachers for teachers, the Math Academy tools and activities included in this booklet were designed to create hands-on activities and a fun learning environment for the teaching of mathematics to the students. This booklet contains the “Math Academy–Let’s Go to the Mall! Explorations in Combinatorics,” which teachers can use to enhance their math instruction while staying true to the academic rigor required by the state standards framework. Included in this booklet are activities the author used for the combinations and permutations Math Academy. This Math Academy is designed to help students understand the connection between various kinds of combinations (multiplication principle and choose numbers) and permutations. Teachers may choose to implement a grade-level or school-wide Math Academy, or they may prefer to implement these activities… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Development of a Math-Learning App for Students with Visual Impairments

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The project was conducted to make an online tutoring program for math word problem solving accessible to students with visual impairments (VI). An online survey of teachers of students with VI (TVIs) guided the decision to provide the math content in the form of an iPad app, accompanied by print and braille materials. The app includes audio descriptions of images that illustrate the math problems, an integrated Scratch Pad, options to adjust color and contrast, hints, and videos showing how to solve sample problems. In order to provide access to those needing screen reading technology or screen enlargement, the app utilizes the Apple built-in accessibility features of VoiceOver and Zoom. A study with 19 TVIs and 29 students with VI was conducted to obtain feedback about the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Novice Teachers Reflect on Their Instructional Practices While Teaching Adults Math

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Over three years, eighty-two teachers in their first or second year of teaching participated in orientation programs for new adult educators. During the programs, they reflected on their own instructional practices when teaching mathematics to adults. The teachers identified the practice they were likely to overemphasize and explained why they were likely to do so, posting their responses to online course discussion boards. Almost half of the respondents reported they “primarily emphasize calculation skills” and shared various reasons for doing so. The remaining respondents reported emphasizing one of four other instructional practices. Teachers put forth a variety of justifications for the instructional practices they have been using. Professional development efforts will need to recognize and take account of the teachers’ beliefs, assumptions and current practices. Link til… Continue Reading