ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Teaching Sustainable Practices as Part of a Holistic Education in the Saudi Context
Author: Alghamdi, Ahlam
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Sustainability,Holistic Approach,Cultural Awareness,Cultural Background,Sustainable Development,Developmentally Appropriate Practices,Early Childhood Education,Transformative Learning,Religion,Curriculum,Patriotism,Learning Activities

Children of every culture love to hear stories about their heritage. Storytelling creates shared experiences through the combination of time and space (Langellier, 2011). Educators and parents often use storytelling to explore characters, plot, setting, conflict, and resolution or other key elements of a story. From a more holistic view, storytelling is a teaching tool that is a natural way to teach about the environment and ethical and moral obligations to each other; it has the potential to create a social process that supports cultural survival (Rankin, Hansteen-Izora, &amp; Packer, 2007). Storytelling can help maintain a sustainable culture, which is a basic element of a sustainable society (Abdul-Malik, 2012). Supplementing traditional benefits of storytelling, many activities and routines in early childhood lend themselves to broader discussions of sustainability. In this article, we will share an example of how sand and water activities have been used to support sustainable environments in Saudi Arabia. To do this, we explore how transformative and developmentally appropriate activities fit within a Saudi early childhood context, and provide examples of experiences that support a whole child approach to education.
Process over Product: How Creative Youth Development Can Lead to Peace
Author: Jacobs, Adam
Date: 2019-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Summer Programs,Creative Activities,Youth Programs,Art Activities,STEM Education,Science Activities,Games,Athletics,Student Development,Peace,Critical Thinking,Interpersonal Competence,Skill Development

Kids Creative is a New York City nonprofit that runs afterschool and summer programs with over 1,000 youth each year. The programs they run use this creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, works of art, videos, dances, and more. When Kids Creative received grant funding, they were able to include more youth and add homework help, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) activities, and sports to their arts offerings. Throughout this expansion, they have maintained their process-oriented educational structures. Whether they are creating a musical play or a Lego robot, playing chess or learning a martial art, all participants have a voice as contributors and collaborators. At Kids Creative, the arts, science, and sports are vehicles for individual and community growth. Kids Creative see themselves as a creative youth development (CYD) program engaged in peace education. Their vision is that &quot;a better, more peaceful future is achievable by teaching youth the creative, critical thinking, and social skills necessary to make peace within themselves and in society.&quot; Their process-oriented approach to creativity builds what Elise Boulding (2000) calls a &quot;peace culture.&quot; She writes, &quot;Peace cultures thrive on and are nourished by visions of how things might be, in a world where sharing and caring are part of the accepted lifeways for everyone&quot; (p. 29). The author, a co-founder of Kids Creative, examines what is a creative youth development and how Kids Creative supports a peace culture.
Early Childhood Education in Iran: Progress and Emerging Challenges
Author: Sharifian, Maryam
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Early Childhood Education,Educational History,Preschool Education,Kindergarten,Public Schools,Private Schools,Rural Schools,Access to Education,Religious Education,Islam,Preschool Teachers,Teacher Aides,Educational Legislation,Teacher Education Programs,Incentives,Language Usage

Frequently, our world seems filled with nations in conflict. The ultimate legacy of nations' inability to cooperate will be inherited by the world's children. Perhaps the most effective solution to creating a more peaceful world in the years to come is to provide high quality education for all children. Such education, however, is more likely to result if teachers of the world become willing to share their success stories and examples of supportive resources. Admittedly, professional collaborations between teachers in the Islamic Republic of Iran and those of the West are rare, at best. Despite political challenges, it is time to find ways to share. A place to begin is to provide teachers with background information regarding the current status of early childhood education (ECE) in Iran. This paper is also a call for a global teacher-response to initiate greater dialogue in support of all of our children.
Gender Equity in Tanzanian Classrooms
Author: Essary, Jessica
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Equal Education,Sex Fairness,Gender Bias,Teacher Attitudes,Elementary School Teachers,Elementary School Students,Teacher Expectations of Students,Teacher Characteristics

While rhetoric concerning gender equity is beginning to emerge in many African nations, a dearth of research examines the status of gender equity in actual Sub-Saharan African classrooms. The purpose of this study was to explore teacher views of gender equity pertaining to primary grade boys and girls. Data were collected using the Teacher Attitudes Survey (TAS) (Anderson, 2005). This instrument was administered to 137 randomly selected Tanzanian primary grade teachers. Findings suggest significant differences exist in what teachers perceive to be important for boys and girls to learn when the curriculum is broken down by subject. Discussion of findings provides suggestions for future international comparative research on gender equity in African classrooms.
What Does Course Design Mean to College Science and Mathematics Teachers?
Author: Smith, Gary A.
Date: 2019-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Science,Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Curriculum Design,College Mathematics,Science Teachers,STEM Education,Undergraduate Study,College Faculty

A phenomenographic study at a research university identified five categories of description for how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) instructors conceptualize the design and redesign of undergraduate courses. These categories form a hierarchical outcomes space with increasing complexity of awareness of the phenomenon. The basic conceptualization (Category 1) is individual focus on the content to teach. Another focus turns to how to teach the content (Category 2). In Category 3, course design involves critical reflection that informs adjusting what is taught and how it is taught. Category 4 extends course design from individuals to collaborative activity within a department. In Category 5, instructors' course-design lens expands beyond a department to embrace collective engagement with people across disciplines and universities to develop a culture to innovate teaching and learning. The study shows that instructors, administrators, and faculty developers should view course design not only as a variety of individual approaches, but also as opportunities to stimulate networks to enhance the design process and its impact.
Students&apos; Understanding of Geometry Terminology through the Lens of Van Hiele Theory
Author: Alex, Jogymol
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Geometry,Mathematics Instruction,Vocabulary,Rural Areas,College Freshmen,Teacher Education Programs,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Mathematics Tests,Scores,Multiple Choice Tests,Visual Aids,Concept Formation,Mathematical Concepts,Student Teachers,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Theories,Learning Processes

After a long six-year lapse, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement introduced in 2012 included geometry as part of the South African Grade 12 Mathematics Paper 2. The first cohort of matriculation students wrote Paper 2 in 2014. This article reports on the understanding of geometry terminology with which a group of 154 first-year mathematics education students entered a rural South African university in 2015; 126 volunteered to be part of the study. Responses to a 60-item multiple-choice questionnaire (30 verbally presented and 30 visually presented items) in geometry terminology provided the data for the study. A concept's verbal description should be associated with its correct visual image. Van Hiele theory provided the lens for the study. An overall percentage mean score of 64% obtained in the test indicated that the majority of the students had a fairly good knowledge of basic geometry terminology. The students obtained a percentage mean score of 68% on visually presented items against that of 59% on verbally presented items implying a lower level thinking as per Van Hiele theory. The findings of this study imply a combination approach using visual and verbal representations to enhance conceptual understanding in geometry. This has to be complemented and supplemented through scaffolding to fill student teachers' content gap.
The Effects of Examination-Driven Teaching on Mathematics Achievement in Grade 10 School-Based High-Stakes Examinations
Author: Okitowamba, Onyumbe
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Achievement,High Stakes Tests,Grade 10,Testing,Educational Quality,Teaching Methods,High School Students,Foreign Countries

Various efforts are underway to improve achievement in high-stakes examinations in school mathematics. This article reports on one such initiative which focuses on the development of quality teaching of school mathematics by embedding it within an examination-driven emphasis. A quantitative approach was used to analyse the performance of Grade 10 learners in three consecutive end-of-year school-based examinations set by the initiative. Results indicate a trend in a positive direction over the three-year period. Nevertheless, there was a discernible decrease between the first and second administration of the examinations. It is concluded that examination-driven teaching holds a promise for enhancing achievement in high-stakes school mathematics examinations if sensibly and sensitively implemented.
Teachers&apos; Learning and Assessing of Mathematical Processes with Emphasis on Representations, Reasoning and Proof
Author: Maoto, Satsope
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,Mathematical Logic,Validity,Secondary School Mathematics,High School Teachers,Mathematics Teachers,Grade 9,Problem Solving,Thinking Skills

This article focuses mainly on two key mathematical processes (representation, and reasoning and proof). Firstly, we observed how teachers learn these processes and subsequently identify what and how to assess learners on the same processes. Secondly, we reviewed one teacher's attempt to facilitate the learning of the processes in his classroom. Two interrelated questions were pursued: 'what are the teachers' challenges in learning mathematical processes?' and 'in what ways are teachers' approaches to learning mathematical processes influencing how they assess their learners on the same processes?' A case study was undertaken involving 10 high school mathematics teachers who enrolled for an assessment module towards a Bachelor in Education Honours degree in mathematics education. We present an interpretive analysis of two sets of data. The first set consisted of the teachers' written responses to a pattern searching activity. The second set consisted of a mathematical discourse on matchstick patterns in a Grade 9 class. The overall finding was that teachers rush through forms of representation and focus more on manipulation of numerical representations with a view to deriving symbolic representation. Subsequently, this unidirectional approach limits the scope of assessment of mathematical processes. Interventions with regard to the enhancement of these complex processes should involve teachers' actual engagements in and reflections on similar learning.
Investigating the Treatment of Missing Data in an Olympiad-Type Test -- The Case of the Selection Validity in the South African Mathematics Olympiad
Author: Long, Caroline
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Competition,Secondary School Students,Talent Identification,Mathematics Skills,Student Interests,Data Analysis,Scoring,Tests,Test Validity,Guessing (Tests)

The purpose of the South African Mathematics Olympiad is to generate interest in mathematics and to identify the most talented mathematical minds. Our focus is on how the handling of missing data affects the selection of the 'best' contestants. Two approaches handling missing data, applying the Rasch model, are described. The issue of guessing is investigated through a tailored analysis. We present two microanalyses to illustate how missing data may impact selection; the first investigates groups of contestants that may miss selection under particular conditions; the second focuses on two contestants each of whom answer 14 items correctly. This comparison raises questions about the proportion of correct to incorrect answers. Recommendations are made for future scoring of the test, which include reconsideration of negative marking and weighting as well as considering the inclusion of 150 or 200 contestants as opposed to 100 contestants for participation in the final round.
Tracking Grade 10 Learners&apos; Geometric Reasoning through Folding Back
Author: Mabotja, Samuel
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grade 10,Mathematics Instruction,Geometry,Thinking Skills,Geometric Concepts,Problem Solving,Mathematical Logic,Validity,Secondary School Mathematics,Foreign Countries,Teaching Methods

This article uses parts of qualitative data from the first author's study that focused on exploring Pirie and Kieren's process of &quot;folding back,&quot; revisiting previously held understandings of a concept for its extended understanding in order to solve the problem of enhancing Grade 10 learners' reasoning in geometry. In South Africa, secondary school leavers and pre-service teachers have difficulties in understanding geometric concepts and little is known about learners' geometric reasoning. Using teaching experiment methodology, we particularly tracked Grade 10 learners' geometric reasoning through &quot;folding back.&quot; We targeted two groups of learners from a class of 54 in which learners grouped themselves: the first group consisted of two members and the second group consisted of three members. The selection of learners was prompted by the manner in which the learners argued and questioned each other during four weeks of exploratory teaching. Data were collected through participant observations, where notes were taken and video recordings made in different sessions. We analysed the field notes and verbatim transcriptions of the video recordings using Polkinghorne's narrative analysis and analysis of narratives. Both the teacher's and the learners' interventions prompted effective &quot;folding back&quot; resulting in critical sharing of ideas. We thus argue that learners' effective &quot;folding back&quot; is a powerful tool to enhance their geometric reasoning.
Learners&apos; Errors in Secondary Algebra: Insights from Tracking a Cohort from Grade 9 to Grade 11 on a Diagnostic Algebra Test
Author: Pournara, Craig
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Mathematics,Algebra,Grade 9,Grade 10,Grade 11,Diagnostic Tests,Mathematics Instruction,Foreign Countries,Mathematical Concepts,Error Patterns

It is well known that learner performance in mathematics in South Africa is poor. However, less is known about what learners actually do and the extent to which this changes as they move through secondary school mathematics. In this study a cohort of 250 learners was tracked from Grade 9 to Grade 11 to investigate changes in their performance on a diagnostic algebra test drawn from the well-known Concepts in Secondary Maths and Science (CSMS) tests. Although the CSMS tests were initially developed for Year 8 and Year 9 learners in the UK, a Rasch analysis on the Grade 11 results showed that the test performed adequately for older learners in SA. Error analysis revealed that learners make a wide variety of errors even on simple algebra items. Typical errors include conjoining, difficulties with negatives and brackets and a tendency to evaluate expressions rather than leaving them in the required open form. There is substantial evidence of curriculum impact in learners' responses such as the inappropriate application of the addition law of exponents and the distributive law. Although such errors dissipate in the higher grades, this happens later than expected. While many learner responses do not appear to be sensible initially, interview data reveals that there is frequently an underlying logic related to mathematics that has been previously learned.
Proportional Reasoning Ability of School Leavers Aspiring to Higher Education in South Africa
Author: Frith, Vera
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Aspiration,Higher Education,Benchmarking,Multiple Choice Tests,Mathematics Tests,Fractions,Problem Solving,Abstract Reasoning,Foreign Countries,Numeracy,Secondary School Students,Mathematics Skills

The ability to reason about numbers in relative terms is essential for quantitative literacy, which is necessary for studying academic disciplines and for critical citizenship. However, the ability to reason with proportions is known to be difficult to learn and to take a long time to develop. To determine how well higher education applicants can reason with proportions, questions requiring proportional reasoning were included in one version of the National Benchmark Test as unscored items. This version of the National Benchmark Test was taken in June 2014 by 5 444 learners countrywide who were intending to apply to higher education institutions. The multiple choice questions varied in terms of the structure of the problem, the context in which they were situated and complexity of the numbers, but all involved only positive whole numbers. The percentage of candidates who answered any particular question correctly varied from 25% to 82%. Problem context and structure affected the performance, as expected. In addition, problems in which the answer was presented as a mathematical expression, or as a sentence in which the reasoning about the relative sizes of fractions was explained, were generally found to be the most difficult. The performance on those questions in which the answer was a number or a category (chosen as a result of reasoning about the relative sizes of fractions) was better. These results indicate that in learning about ratio and proportion there should be a focus on reasoning in various contexts and not only on calculating answers algorithmically.
A Square in Drag as Concrete Universal; Or, Hegel as a Sketchpad Programmer
Author: Davis, Zain
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Teacher Education,Professional Identity,Constructivism (Learning),Educational Philosophy,Educational Sociology,Geometry,Alignment (Education),Teaching Methods,Course Content,Teacher Student Relationship,Honors Curriculum,Inservice Teacher Education,Secondary School Teachers,National Curriculum,Computer Software,Video Technology,Computer Assisted Instruction,Foreign Countries

In this article, by way of an analysis of a case of mathematics teacher training, I explore the general idea of pedagogic expectation of an alignment of pedagogic identities and specific realisations of mathematics in pedagogic contexts. The particular case analysed has a constructivist orientation, but the analytic resources brought to bear in the analysis can be used more generally for the description and analysis of pedagogic situations. The analysis is framed chiefly by the philosophical work of Georg Hegel alongside Basil Bernstein's sociological discussion of evaluation in pedagogic contexts. The argument proceeds in three inter-related parts, the first of which produces an analytic description of the discursive production of the desired pedagogic subject--in this case, a teacher/student of geometry--in which I show how &quot;explication&quot; and &quot;abbreviation&quot; are used discursively in an attempt to construct the desired teacher/student--that is, a particular pedagogic identity. The second part of the argument describes the discursive production of mathematics content in a manner intended to align content with the desired teacher/student and introduces the notion of a &quot;regulative&quot; orientation in order to grasp the differences in the mathematical work of students. The third part is a synthesis of parts one and two, showing how pedagogic identity and mathematics contents are brought together as correlative effects of each other.
Conversations in a Professional Learning Community: An Analysis of Teacher Learning Opportunities in Mathematics
Author: Million Chauraya
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Communities of Practice,Faculty Development,Mathematics Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Error Patterns,Peer Relationship,Learning Processes,Audio Equipment,Cognitive Processes,Student Needs,Teacher Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Strategic Planning,Foreign Countries

The growing perception of professional learning communities as an effective professional development approach needs to be supported with knowledge of how such communities create learning opportunities for teachers. Activities in professional learning communities are underpinned by collegial conversations that foster learning, and in this article we analysed such conversations for learning opportunities in one professional learning community of mathematics teachers. Data consisted of audio-recorded community conversations. The focus of the conversations was to understand the thinking behind learners' errors, and teachers engaged in a number of activities related to learner errors and learner reasoning. Our analyses show how opportunities for learning were created in identifying the origins of learners' errors as well as learners' thinking underlying their errors. Results also showed that the teachers had opportunities for learning how to identify learners' learning needs and in turn the teachers' own learning needs. The teachers also had opportunities for deepening their own understanding of the conceptual meaning of ratio. The learning opportunities were supported by the following: having a learning focus, patterns of engagement that were characterised by facilitator questioning, teacher responses and explanations, and sharing knowledge. Such mutual engagement practices in professional learning communities resulted in new and shared meanings about teachers' classroom practices. Our findings also show the critical role of a facilitator for teacher learning in professional learning communities.