What's The Research On...?

Teaching children equations
Teaching math involves uncovering and correcting information children bring with them; some develop concepts about the 'equals' sign earler than was supposed

Classroom Discourse and Teacher Change
Students’ original contributions are important to productive classroom discourse. But teachers need to monitor where the discourse is going, and should develop some criteria for deciding when the class has reached the goal. Teachers need to learn the ‘stepping in and out’ that’s so important to promoting productive discourse. Mathematical talk is a skill unto itself that deserves instructional attention, according to UW-Madison education professors Mitchell Nathan and Eric Knuth.

CGI Math Encourages Ingenuity and Reasoning
Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) is based on research that shows that children come to school with rich informal systems of mathematical knowledge and problem-solving strategies that can serve as a basis for learning mathematics with understanding. A major goal of CGI is to help teachers build on this informal mathematical knowledge so that they understand the new ideas that they are learning. Because this method of teaching is innovative, CGI offers classroom teachers help in understanding how children’s mathematical ideas develop. The focus is on children’s thinking, not on specifying specific teaching procedures or curriculum materials.

Adolescent Reasoning in Mathematical and Non-mathematical Domains
Why do children appear so capable when reasoning in non-mathematical contexts, yet seemingly appear much less capable when reasoning in mathematical domains? UW-Madison education professors Eric Knuth, Charles Kalish, Amy Ellis, and colleagues explored that paradox. Their research bridges the research on adolescents’ reasoning capabilities within mathematics education and within cognitive science.