Educationalizing Instagram for Virtual Instruction in COVID-19

Learning through social media platforms is a nascent pedagogy that opens up new virtual online e-instructional modalities and avenues to be explored especially in these challenging emergency times of COVID-19. This research focuses on a self-directed initiative of a math teacher who taught her students in an open virtual class via Instagram. This study explores how the main features of Instagram -inherently used as social interaction platform - were maximized for educational purposes. It also investigates the effects, be they positive or negative, on the learning-teaching process in terms of engagement and communication. For this, a mixed-method sequential exploratory design was opted for to conduct the study which surveyed 100 students across 22 different high schools who took part in the virtual open math classes. The findings highlight the different patterns of Instagram use and platform features that lend this social media website the requisite feasibility to educationalize it. Furthermore, the results reveal both the favourable and disadvantageous aspects of Instagram.

The Future of Math Teacher Professional Learning

We summarize the results of a field scan that set out to describe the current state of math teacher learning and promising future directions for improving math teaching and learning for all learners, particularly those most underestimated by the education system. We share five key learnings: (1) math teacher learning is in a "steady state," where schools and districts generally use three approaches to support math educators: professional learning communities (PLCs), instructional coaching, and professional learning workshops, (2) researchers have not been able to document a strong link between each of these three approaches and teacher and student learning, with the exception of coaching which shows benefits for teachers but not direct evidence of student learning, (3) comprehensive programs that apply several of these approaches simultaneously with sufficient supports can improve math outcomes for students, but gains often dissipate when supports decline, (4) there are a few "points of light" of innovative new approaches including teacher-led learning innovations, teacher pipeline initiatives, practice-embedded models, and digital clinical simulations, and (5) there are opportunities for new initiatives in math education to pay greater attention to the implications for teacher learning. We discuss important critiques of our report and offer a "call to action" for stakeholders in the field.

First Person: Me and Mr. Milby

Math teacher Rick Barlow reflects on his placement as a tutor in the classroom of Mr. Milby (a pseudonym). Mr. Milby sat at his desk throughout every class, rarely getting up to interact with students. From that example, Barlow learned that a teacher’s desk was a barrier between teacher and students, and he eschewed having and using a desk in this way. Instead, he followed the example of other teachers he met during his teacher preparation and made pancakes for students and learned Spanish to talk with their families. But, over time, he came to realize that he internalized practices that kept him in a seat of power, following traditions that weren’t necessarily in students’ best interests.

Train as a Math Teacher: Creative and Proactive Process of Professional Development

In this article we share a study on a professional development training program for math teachers. It is presented as innovative as it focuses on the reflection on the practice of teaching through the raising and solution of professional problems. We define professional problems, such as those teaching situations to which the teacher seeks solutions. We demonstrate with excerpts from working sessions that these solutions are nourished by the reflection on the practice they are trying to modify. They are, as a whole, indicators of specialized knowledge that characterize a professional of teaching mathematics.

The Comparison of Turkish and Chinese Primary Math Teacher Education Programs

The aim of this study is to compare Turkey and China in terms of admission to primary math teacher education programs, the content of primary math teacher training programs and appointment to teaching post. Within the scope of this aim, document analysis method was used in the study. As data sources the websites of Ministry of Education, OECD, National Center on Education and Economy and articles on primary Mathematics teacher education systems and teacher education systems in general were used. The documents were examined in terms of conditions of admission to teacher education programs, the content of curriculum and the appointment to teaching post in Turkey and China. While choosing the countries, 2018 PISA Math results of China and Turkey were considered. According to the findings of the study it was concluded that although Turkey and China have some similarities in terms of conditions of admission to teacher education programs, the content of curriculum and the appointment to teaching post, there are also big differences between two countries. Accordingly, some suggestions are proposed especially for the Turkish teacher education system. Some of the suggestions are increasing the hours of practicum, having an interview before they are accepted to education programs, having an interview and a written exam in every five years after they are appointed to a teaching post.

PELATIHAN PEMBUATAN ALAT PERAGA MATEMATIKA UNTUK SEKOLAH DASAR MEMANFAATKAN BAHAN BEKAS DI SD NEGERI 01 PADANG AIR DINGIN

The object of mathematics is abstract, so that the math teacher must compose abstract mathematical objects to be easy learning for students. Solving this problem, experience through real objects (concrete) such as props is required. Using props, students can see, feel, and think directly about the object after they learn so that the abstract concept being studied can settle, cling, and last in the student's mind. This devotion aims to provide the ability to think mathematics creatively and develop a favourable attitude towards mathematical thinking. The methods of this devotional activity are lectures, Q&A and discussions. The results obtained after doing this activity have an impact on students' understanding. Students who understand the materials taught faster and then teachers are also more creative in utilizing used materials to learn media. Teachers do not have to spend much money to make an attractive prop

Computationel tankegang fra et pædagogisk perspektiv

ResuméDenne artikel beskriver en undersøgelse af skolepædagogens betydning, når der introduceres til nye digitale teknologier i en undervisningssammenhæng i samarbejde med matematiklæreren. Undersøgelsen belyser, hvordan pædagogen kan være med til at understøtte elevernes tilegnelse af computationel tankegang (CT) som en del af matematikundervisningen. I projektet er der til hver klasse tilknyttet et team bestående af en pædagog og en matematiklærer. Empiriindsamlingen er en del af et ph.d.-projekt med fokus på CT i matematik, hvor der ses på, hvordan klasseteamet kollektivt kan udvikle brugen af CT for at understøtte elevernes matematiske forståelse. I denne artikel indgår der datamateriale i form af observationer fra det pædagogiske personales (pædagog og matematiklærer) undervisning og kompetenceudviklingsproces fra i alt fem 2. klasser fra tre forskellige kommuner. Resultaterne viser, at pædagogen spiller en væsentlig rolle i forhold til at understøtte elevernes internaliseringsproces, når der inddrages nye teknologier i undervisningen, og der er en opfattelse af, at pædagogerne fungerer som et medierende led i elevernes tilegnelse af den computationelle og matematiske forståelse. Det er vigtigt, at pædagogerne kender til de valgte teknologier og selv har afprøvet disse i praksis, da det giver dem større tryghed, når de understøtter både læreren og eleverne i undervisningen. Abstract Computational thinking from a pedagogical perspective. The social educator’s importance for introducing technology in mathematics education. This article describes research on the importance of the social educator when new digital technologies are introduced in a teaching context along with the math teacher. It explores how the social educator can facilitate students’ acquisition of computational thinking (CT) as part of mathematics. For the project, each class is assigned a team that consists of a social educator and a math teacher. This article is part of a larger project that addresses CT in mathematics, which focuses on how to develop the use of CT to support the students’ mathematical understanding. Moreover, this article includes data material such as observations from the teaching and collective professional development process of the pedagogical staff from five second grade classes from three different municipalities. The results reveal that the social educator has a significant role in supporting students’ internalization process when new technologies are incorporated into the teaching. The social educator is also considered a mediating element in the students’ acquisition of computational and mathematical understanding. It is essential that the social educator is familiar with the selected technologies and has tested them in practice since this experience will increase their confidence in supporting the teacher and the students in the teaching.

Mathematical Argumentation Performance of Sixth-Graders in a Chinese Rural Class

Researchers have established that solid argumentation is essential for developing, establishing and communicating mathematical knowledge, which attracted substantial attention from researchers, but few have simultaneously investigated the argumentation performance of sixth-graders and their teacher’s potential influence in Chinese rural classrooms. In this pilot study, 33 sixth graders in a Chinese rural class were examined, and the math teacher who had been teaching them for three years was interviewed. Findings related to the students’ performance revealed the need to improve their argumentation competency, including using more diverse modes of arguments and argument representation as well as developing more advanced types of arguments (e.g., deductive argumentation). The interview finding with the math teacher indicated that the teacher’s perception and knowledge might impact students’ learning opportunities to conduct argumentation and, therefore, may influence students’ argumentative performance. Implications and limitations of this study is discussed at the end.

Peningkatan Motivasi Belajar Matematika Siswa Melalui Model Pembelajaran Kooperatif Tipe Teams Assisted Individualization (TAI) pada Siswa Kelas XI IPS 1 SMA Negeri 6 Kerinci

This research was a classroom action research. The study was conducted because there were some students who were lack of motivation in learning Math Subject. Therefore, the researcher offered Cooperative Team Assisted Individualization (TAI) to improve the students learning motivation on Math Subject. The objective of the research was to figure out whether the method could improve the student’s learning motivation related to cooperation, participation, passion and learning enthusiasm at grade XII IPS 1 SMA N 1 Kerinci. The collaborator of the research was a teacher who taught the same subject. The research was done in two cycles which had three stages; (a) Planning (b) Action (c) Observation, and (d) Reflection. The data were collected by using (a) observation (b) Questionnaire (c) Written test. The data analysis result showed that the student’s learning motivation in Math subject improved significantly after Cooperative TAI (Teams Assisted Individualization) was implemented. The student’s learning motivation in cycle one was 58,69%, then in cycle 2 the percentage was 75,30%. It concluded that the implementation of Cooperative TAI in learning and teaching process on Math Subject improved the student’s learning motivation. It was suggested to Math Teacher to apply this method as one of the solutions to cover the student’s learning motivation problem on Math Subject.