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From the abstract: "The purpose of this study was to find out from current high school math teachers, of geometry specifically, what their views of technology are. The goal of the study was to ask these teachers which technologies they use and whether they believe technology has beneficial effects on student learning. Data was collected for the survey by asking teachers to take brief electronic surveys and conduct in-person interviews. All questions in both the survey and interviews were focused on the effects of technology that they see in their classrooms. The scope of the participants was restricted to Columbus, Ohio, and thus, generalizations for any classroom or any school building cannot be made. However, this study did find a consensus among the participants as to which technologies they felt were the most beneficial in their classrooms, as well as those that might not be needed at all in a classroom. The three technologies that these teachers claimed to be the most beneficial were SMART boards, TI-nspire calculators and Geometer's Sketchpad/GeoGebra. Again, this study cannot make solid conclusions, but it is safe to say that this study gives insight into teachers' viewpoints, which, in a sense, are more important than those of outside researchers. The teachers agreed on a few technologies that are the most beneficial and thus future studies should focus on really studying the effects of these technologies as well as focus on getting a wider range of teachers' opinions on this topic."

Current reforms in mathematics education emphasise the need for pedagogy because it offers learners opportunities to develop their proficiency with complex high-level cognitive processes. One has always associated the ability to make mathematical connections, together with the teacher's role in teaching them, with deep mathematical understanding. This article examines the nature and quality of the mathematical connections that the teachers' representations of those connections enabled or constrained. The researchers made video recordings of four Grade 11 teachers as they taught a series of five lessons on algebra-related topics. The results showed that the teachers' representations of mathematical connections were either faulty or superficial in most cases. It compromised the learners' opportunities for making meaningful mathematical connections. The researchers concluded by suggesting that helping teachers to build their representation repertoires could increase the effectiveness of their instructional practices.

LOGIN: http://tinyurl.com/math20event Mind the Daylight Saving Time! Geoff Roulet and Jill Lazarus will discuss their use of wikis, GeoGebra and Jing with students, and invite participants for an extended DIY exploration. More details concerning the software required are below. All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events The recording will be at: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/SupportingCollaborativeMath Your time zone: http://bit.ly/z69yzS About Blended Mathematical Collaboration using a Wiki, GeoGebra and Jing This discussion centers on the use of computer tools in a high school class. The goal was to develop a "math-talk learning community" to establish mathematics communication and collaboration as a classroom norm. In support of this we have combined the use of a wiki, GeoGebra, and Jing. We would like to invite educators who have experience with wikis, GeoGebra and screencasts, or who would like to learn more, to discuss our project and share their ideas. Event Hosts Geoff is the skipper of and Jill a crew member on Jeannie, a J35 racing yacht. When not sailing, they are mathematics educators. After graduate work at the University of Waterloo, Geoff Roulet began teaching mathematics, computer science, and chemistry at Roland Michener Secondary School in Timmins, northern Ontario. In the late 1970s, when personal computers for computer science were placed in the back of his classroom, Geoff began using these to support student learning in mathematics. Since then he has been involved in ICT use in teaching and learning at all grades and in all subjects, but with a particular focus on mathematics. Teaching was followed by a short spell of curriculum development and support work with the Ontario Ministry of Education and then in 1990 a move to the Faculty of Education, Queen's University at Kingston. Along the way Geoff completed M.Ed. and D.Ed. degrees at the Ontario Institute for Studies

"overview of the landscape of K-12 STEM education by considering different school models, highlighting research on effective STEM education practices, and identifying some conditions that promote and limit school- and student-level success in STEM. It can serve as a guide for those involved in K-12 education at all levels: policy makers; decision makers at the school and district levels; local, state, and federal government agencies; curriculum developers; educators; and parent and education advocacy groups." Findings, according to a Science magazine news story indicate that STEM teaching matters more than specialized STEM schools. Report does indicate steps to improve STEM education, involving investments in resources and teacher training, see :http://bit.ly/kRPyH3

Published by University of Chicago Press, July 2012. "Math and science hold powerful places in contemporary society, setting the foundations for entry into some of the most robust and highest-paying industries. However, effective math and science education is not equally available to all students, with some of the poorest students-those who would benefit most-going egregiously underserved. This ongoing problem with education highlights one of the core causes of the widening class gap. While this educational inequality can be attributed to a number of economic and political causes, in Empowering Science and Mathematics Education in Urban Communities, Angela Calabrese Barton and Edna Tan demonstrate that it is augmented by a consistent failure to integrate student history, culture, and social needs into the core curriculum. They argue that teachers and schools should create hybrid third spaces-neither classroom nor home-in which underserved students can merge their personal worlds with those of math and science. A host of examples buttress this argument: schools where these spaces have been instituted now provide students not only an immediate motivation to engage the subjects most critical to their future livelihoods but also the broader math and science literacy necessary for robust societal engagement. A unique look at a frustratingly understudied subject, Empowering Science and Mathematics Education pushes beyond the idea of teaching for social justice and into larger questions of how and why students participate in math and science. " Excerpts in Google Books

Abstract: "The purpose of this chapter is to provide pedagogical strategies and discuss ideas about teaching mathematics using GeoGebra that promote effective use of visualization in a technology-integrated dynamic environment. The author describes his work with prospective secondary mathematics teachers enrolled in a methods course. The results of the study revealed that their perspectives on teaching and learning mathematics with technology were enriched as they worked individually and in small groups to develop and present lessons with GeoGebra, suggesting that creating a collaborative environment for our prospective teachers is as important as incorporating dynamic mathematics software into our teacher education courses." (Full text requires subscription or purchase)

Abstract:"This paper discusses the results of a pilot st udy that explored how prospective secondary school teachers are shaped by learni ng experiences during their undergraduate mathematics education. The collabora tive study, which was conducted by a mathematician and a mathematics educator, dr ew from the experiences of prospective teachers in a non-traditional undergraduate ma thematics program that makes extensive use of technology. Analysis of data collect ed from detailed questionnaires, journals, and focus group discussions strongly suggests that designing, implementing, and testing Learning Objects promotes prospective teache rs' learning of the mathematics needed for teaching. Furthermore, the analysis shows t hat prospective teachers' experiences of ownership, engagement, and pride are key to positive learning experiences. "

The top five search tools for finding Flickr images are designed to help teachers and students locate just the right image for use in any subject area and project. Without these tools finding the right image on this image hosting site is often an impossible, or at least a tedious, task. The value of this site is its ability to provide digital pictures which are often impossible for a teacher to obtain any other way. Like everything else on the internet, trying to find something is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This where the top five search tools become valuable resources for teachers and students trying to find images comes into play. These search engines are specifically designed to search the more than three billion pictures on the Flickr hosting site.

The Gateway expands educators' capability to access Internet-based lesson plans, instructional units and other educational materials in all forms and formats. The Gateway's goal is to improve the organization and accessibility of the substantial collections of materials that are already available on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. The Gateway has been serving teachers continuously since 1996 which makes it one of the oldest publically accessible U.S. repositories of education resources on the Web. The Gateway contains a variety of educational resource types from activities and lesson plans to online projects to assessment items.

LOG IN February 22, 2012 at 2pm Eastern US time: http://tinyurl.com/math20event During the event, John Mason will lead a conversation about multiplication as scaling, and answer questions about his books, projects and communities. All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events The recording will be at: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/JohnMason Your time zone: http://bit.ly/wQYN1Y Event challenge! What good multiplication tasks about scaling do you know? Share links and thoughts! John writes about elastic multiplication: "It is often said that 'multiplication is repeated addition' when what is meant is that 'repeated addition is an instance of multiplication'. I have been developing some tasks which present 'scaling as multiplication' based around familiarity with elastic bands. Participants would benefit from having an elastic (rubber) band to hand which they have cut so as to make a strip; wider is better than thinner if you have a choice." About John Mason John Mason has been teaching mathematics ever since he was asked to tutor a fellow student when he was fifteen. In college he was at first unofficial tutor, then later an official tutor for mathematics students in the years behind him, while tutoring school students as well. After a BSc at Trinity College, Toronto in Mathematics, and an MSc at Massey College, Toronto, he went to Madison Wisconsin where he encountered Polya's film 'Let Us Teach Guessing', and completed a PhD in Combinatorial Geometry. The film released a style of teaching he had experienced at high school from his mathematics teacher Geoff Steel, and his teaching changed overnight. His first appointment was at the Open University, which involved among other things the design and implementation of the first mathematics summer school (5000 students over 11 weeks on three sites in parallel). He called upon his experience of being taught, to institute active-problem-solving sessions, w

"SRI International, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), and the University of Maine have received a $3.5 million award from the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate the effectiveness of an online tutoring system for mathematics homework. The research team will study seventh-grade mathematics students and teachers in more than 50 schools throughout Maine using WPI's ASSISTments system. ASSISTments aims to transform homework by giving students instant feedback and tutoring adapted to their individual needs. It also provides teachers with customized reports each morning on their students' nightly progress. Teachers in the study will receive training in how to use these reports to adapt their lesson plans to better suit students' needs."

Mathematics Teacher Noticing is the first book to examine research on the particular type of noticing done by teachers---how teachers pay attention to and make sense of what happens in the complexity of instructional situations. In the midst of all that is happening in a classroom, where do mathematics teachers look, what do they see, and what sense do they make of it?

review of "THE CALCULUS OF FRIENDSHIP: What a Teacher and a Student Learned about Life While Corresponding about Math" published in 2010 and now in paperback. Transverses thirty years of correspondence between Strogatz and his teacher, insights into student-teacher relationship and lifelong learning

"Bright Spark Education is using Indian teachers trained in the UK curriculum to help British students aged 7 to 16" via Skype; "not looked upon favorably by at least one UK teacher"

The aim of SAIDE ACEMaths project was to pilot a collaborative process for the selection, adaptation and use of OER materials for teacher education programmes in South Africa. Over a period of two years we adapted, piloted and revised a set of materials on the teaching and learning of maths for teacher education. These are now available for downloading FOR FREE in two formats - for printing (PDF), and for adaptation (Word). See the ACEMaths Module to have a look.

"The article reports the main insights gained from a study that implemented a game-enhanced learning environment for the training of pre-service elementary school teachers. Teachers taking an undergraduate mathematics methods course experienced some of the ways in which online educational games could help students internalize key mathematical concepts across the school curriculum while at the same time improving their attitudes towards the subject. The course also familiarized teachers with the design principles for constructivist gaming environments. Findings indicate a positive impact on teachers' competence in selecting, evaluating, and productively using online games as an instructional tool."

A framework is provided for making connections between everyday math problem and solving real world math problems. Connections are made regarding project based learning for teachers new to the process, along with recommendations for teachers who are veterans of project based learning.

Math Central is an Internet service for mathematics students and teachers. It is available in English, French, and Spanish. The site includes: * Resource Room: teaching resources and glossaries * Quandaries and Queries: ask a question or search and browse answers * Mathematics with a Human Face: biographies and career information * Teachers' Bulletin Board: conferences, organizations, newsletters and periodicals * Outreach Activities: Canadian educational outreach opportunities * Math Beyond School: articles addressing "where will I ever use this?" * Problem of the Month: see a new problem in September

"The focus of this digitally mediated learning activity centers on the mathematics department in the Easton and Redding (ER9) school district in Connecticut. Currently, ER9 teachers have technology in the classroom, but many teachers have expressed uncertainty about how to implement this technology in their classrooms. Based on the foundations of the constructivist learning theory, math teachers will learn how technology fits into the student learning cycle. Interested teachers will form a community of practice (CoP) to learn about and apply engaging technology in the classroom. Some technologies discussed include game-based learning, mobile/Web 2.0 apps such as Prezi, Animation and Edmodo. As a result of this technology CoP, teachers will learn to implement at least one new technology into their classroom and engage in communication between CoP members using MOODLE. "