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This book presents a contemporary focus on significant issues in STEM teaching, learning and research that are valuable in preparing students for a digital 21st century. The book chapters cover a wide spectrum of issues and topics using a wealth of research methodologies and methods.
The driving forces behind mathematics learning trajectories is the need to understand how children actually learn and make sense of mathematics-how they progress from prior knowledge, through intermediate understandings, to the mathematics target understandings-and how to use these insights to improve instruction and student learning. In this book, readers will come to understand what learning trajectories are, the research and methodology that are necessary for developing them, and gain insight into potential applications of learning trajectories. A synthesis and research outcome in their own right, learning trajectories provide detailed description of instructionally-grounded development of mathematical concepts and reasoning from the perspective of student learning, and, overall, building on decades of accumulated experience in mathematics education research. However, their greater importance may lie in their potential as frameworks that contribute an unprecedented coherence across classroom instruction, professional development, standards, and assessment, by focusing squarely on conceptual understanding and reasoning instead of assessment-driven procedural knowledge. This potential was sufficiently compelling as an organizing framework to have been cited as a basis for the Common Core mathematics standards, the new mathematics learning expectations that are now consistent across most of the United States. (Among the conference attendees were the writers of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, at the beginning of the Standards drafting process.) This book is an outgrowth of a conference on learning trajectories, hosted in 2009 at North Carolina State University, which examined research on learning trajectories. An overarching message of the chapters in this volume is that learning trajectories, by focusing on how children's mathematical reasoning develops, are coming into their own as a rigorous underpinning for both instruction and accountability. Some of the learning scientists featured in this volume have played major roles learning trajectories' evolution--from small-scale day-to-day conjectures by individual teachers, to systematic research endeavors that teachers and scientists alike can use to interpret standards, plan instruction, and formatively assess student work. The work in this volume will be of interest to mathematics educators, teachers, and professional development specialists.
This important new book synthesizes relevant research on the learning of mathematics from birth into the primary grades from the full range of these complementary perspectives. At the core of early math experts Julie Sarama and Douglas Clements's theoretical and empirical frameworks are learning trajectories—detailed descriptions of children’s thinking as they learn to achieve specific goals in a mathematical domain, alongside a related set of instructional tasks designed to engender those mental processes and move children through a developmental progression of levels of thinking. Rooted in basic issues of thinking, learning, and teaching, this groundbreaking body of research illuminates foundational topics on the learning of mathematics with practical and theoretical implications for all ages. Those implications are especially important in addressing equity concerns, as understanding the level of thinking of the class and the individuals within it, is key in serving the needs of all children.
This important new book synthesizes relevant research on the learning of mathematics from birth into the primary grades from the full range of these complementary perspectives. At the core of early math experts Julie Sarama and Douglas Clements's theoretical and empirical frameworks are learning trajectories—detailed descriptions of children’s thinking as they learn to achieve specific goals in a mathematical domain, alongside a related set of instructional tasks designed to engender those mental processes and move children through a developmental progression of levels of thinking. Rooted in basic issues of thinking, learning, and teaching, this groundbreaking body of research illuminates foundational topics on the learning of mathematics with practical and theoretical implications for all ages. Those implications are especially important in addressing equity concerns, as understanding the level of thinking of the class and the individuals within it, is key in serving the needs of all children.
This book expertly illustrates the important process of authentic assessment and evaluation in the construction and dissemination of educational knowledge. One of the key strengths of this book is the diversity of contexts in which the various aspects of assessment are evidenced and discussed.
The purpose of this special issue is to present several research perspectives on learning trajectories with the intention of encouraging the broader community to reflect on, better define, adopt, adapt, or challenge the concept. The issue begins by briefly introducing learning trajectories. The remaining articles provide elaboration, examples, and discussion of the construct. They purposefully are intended to be illustrative, exploratory, and provocative with regard to learning trajectories construct; they are not a set of verification studies.
The aim of this book is to explore measures of mathematics knowledge, spanning K-16 grade levels. By focusing solely on mathematics content, such as knowledge of mathematical practices, knowledge of ratio and proportions, and knowledge of abstract algebra, this volume offers detailed discussions of specific instruments and tools meant for measuring student learning. Written for assessment scholars and students both in mathematics education and across educational contexts, this book presents innovative research and perspectives on quantitative measures, including their associated purpose statements and validity arguments.
School readiness is as much about schools recognizing the existing capabilities and knowledge each child has when they enter school as it is about supporting children and families in their preparation for entering formal learning environments. Effective approaches that address learning variability must take these differences into account, recognizing and leveraging opportunities inherent in the child’s ecosystem of resources. The Handbook of Research on Innovative Approaches to Early Childhood Development and School Readiness assembles the most current research and thought-leadership on the ways in which innovative education stakeholders are working together to impact the most critical years in a child’s life—the years leading up to and including kindergarten. Covering topics such as change agency, experience quality, and social-emotional development, this book is a crucial resource for educational researchers, child development professionals, school administrators, pre-K teachers, pre-service teachers, program managers, policymakers, non-profit service organizations, early childhood EdTech developers, curriculum developers, and academicians.
In this important book for pre- and in-service teachers, early math experts Douglas Clements and Julie Sarama show how "learning trajectories" help diagnose a child’s level of mathematical understanding and provide guidance for teaching. By focusing on the inherent delight and curiosity behind young children’s mathematical reasoning, learning trajectories ultimately make teaching more joyous. They help teachers understand the varying levels of knowledge exhibited by individual students, which in turn allows them to better meet the learning needs of all children. Using straightforward, no-nonsense language, this book summarizes the current research about how children learn mathematics, and how to build on what children already know to realize more effective teaching. This second edition of Learning and Teaching Early Math remains the definitive, research-based resource to help teachers understand the learning trajectories of early mathematics and become quintessential professionals. Updates to the new edition include: • Explicit connections between Learning Trajectories and the new Common Core State Standards. • New coverage of patterns and patterning. • Incorporation of hundreds of recent research studies.
