Algebra

Differentiating instruction (DI) is a pedagogical approach to managing classroom diversity in which teachers proactively adapt curricula, teaching methods, and products of learning to address individual students' needs in an effort to maximize learning for all (Tomlinson, 2005). DI is rooted in formative assessment, positions teachers and students together as learners, and involves providing choices and different pathways for students. Although teachers can differentiate for many characteristics of students, we differentiate for students' diverse ways of thinking.

Presentation slides from the 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education.

Hohensee, C., Willoughby, L., & Gartland, S. (2018, July). Backward transfer effects when learning about quadratic functions. In E. Bergqvist, M. Österholm, C. Granberg, & L. Sumpter (Eds.), Proceedings of the 42nd Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 5, p. 65). Umeå, Sweden: PME.

Presentation slides from the 41st annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education.

Hohensee, C., Gartland, S., & Willoughby, L. (2019, November). Backward transfer effects on action and process views of functions. In S. Otten, A. G. Candela, Z. de Araujo, C. Haines, & C. Munter (Eds.), Proceedings of the 41st annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. St Louis, MO: University of Missouri.

The LEAP program is the first early algebra curriculum for students in grades 3-5. The program includes 18-20 one-hour lessons at each grade level and teacher support and assessment. Professional development  is also available. 

Three iterative, 18-episode design experiments were conducted after school with groups of 6–9 middle school students to understand how to differentiate mathematics instruction. Prior research on differentiating instruction (DI) and hypothetical learning trajectories guided the instruction. As the experiments proceeded, this definition of DI emerged: proactively tailoring instruction to students’ mathematical thinking while developing a cohesive classroom community.

Students’ difficulties with argumentation, proving, and the role of counterexamples in proving are well documented. Students in this study experienced an intervention for improving their argumentation and proving practices. The intervention included the eliminating counterexamples (ECE) framework as a means of constructing and critiquing viable arguments for a general claim. This framework involves constructing descriptions of all possible counterexamples to a conditional claim and determining whether or not a direct argument eliminates the possibility of counterexamples.

We share here results from a quasi-experimental study that examines growth in students’ algebraic thinking practices of generalizing and representing generalizations, particularly with variable notation, as a result of an early algebra instructional sequence implemented across grades 3–5.

We share here results from a quasi-experimental study that examines growth in students’ algebraic thinking practices of generalizing and representing generalizations, particularly with variable notation, as a result of an early algebra instructional sequence implemented across grades 3–5.

Linear Algebra and Geometry is organized around carefully sequenced problems that help students build both the tools and the habits that provide a solid basis for further study in mathematics. Requiring only high school algebra, it uses elementary geometry to build the beautiful edifice of results and methods that make linear algebra such an important field. 

Shifting people’s judgments toward the scientific involves teaching them to purposefully evaluate connections between evidence and alternative explanations.

Lombardi, D. (2019). Thinking scientifically in a changing world. Science Brief: Psychological Science Agenda, 33(1). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2019/01/changing-world.aspx