Pub Date : 2025-08-06DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101279
Niusha Modabbernia
As combinatorics becomes increasingly prominent in K-12 and undergraduate curricula, so does the need for research on teaching, learning, and understanding combinatorial concepts. Within general research on learning combinatorics, this study attends to students’ work on counting problems, with particular attention to how composite outcomes are constructed. As part of a larger research project, this report focuses on two undergraduate students, whose responses to several counting problems were elicited in semi-structured interviews. The analysis highlights that recognizing “not choosing” a particular attribute as a valid choice in determining and counting outcomes significantly supports students’ success in solving counting problems.
{"title":"Choosing and not choosing: Examining students’ perceptions of not choosing a particular attribute in combinatorial tasks","authors":"Niusha Modabbernia","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101279","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101279","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As combinatorics becomes increasingly prominent in K-12 and undergraduate curricula, so does the need for research on teaching, learning, and understanding combinatorial concepts. Within general research on learning combinatorics, this study attends to students’ work on counting problems, with particular attention to how composite outcomes are constructed. As part of a larger research project, this report focuses on two undergraduate students, whose responses to several counting problems were elicited in semi-structured interviews. The analysis highlights that recognizing “not choosing” a particular attribute as a valid choice in determining and counting outcomes significantly supports students’ success in solving counting problems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-08-02DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101275
Jessi Lajos , Hortensia Soto , Francisco De Jesus Pagan
The purpose of this research is to contribute to the literature at the intersection of imagination and the learning of abstract algebra through the lens of embodied cognition. We explored how imagination and perceptuomotor capacities can interact as two undergraduate students collaborated on an abstract algebra task. This task involved quotient group constructions in a research setting. Through our analysis we found that (a) imagination emerged as re-enactments of prior material and symbolic engagements, (b) different embodiments served a variety of interactive and supportive roles in imagining, and (c) joint embodiments with physical materials served to regulate and lift constraints on what can be imagined.
{"title":"Imagination as an embodied space for engaging with abstract algebra concepts","authors":"Jessi Lajos , Hortensia Soto , Francisco De Jesus Pagan","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101275","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101275","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The purpose of this research is to contribute to the literature at the intersection of imagination and the learning of abstract algebra through the lens of embodied cognition. We explored how imagination and perceptuomotor capacities can interact as two undergraduate students collaborated on an abstract algebra task. This task involved quotient group constructions in a research setting. Through our analysis we found that (a) imagination emerged as re-enactments of prior material and symbolic engagements, (b) different embodiments served a variety of interactive and supportive roles in imagining, and (c) joint embodiments with physical materials served to regulate and lift constraints on what can be imagined.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101275"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144757818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-30DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101278
Dionne Cross Francis , Pavneet Kaur Bharaj , Kathryn Habib , Anna Hinden , Anna Gustaveson , Ji Hong
Researchers converge around the idea that attending to teachers’ beliefs is essential for any instructional reform effort to be effective. However, given the mixed results of belief change efforts, questions remain about what approaches will trigger belief change. One approach that has been shown to be effective in belief and conceptual change in other disciplines, but seldom used in mathematics education, is the use of refutation texts. We investigated the influence of refutation texts on 13 Ghanaian pre-service teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs. Further, we explored the underlying process by which refutation texts may have elicited belief change by applying the Knowledge Revision Components (KReC) Framework. We observed that pre-service teachers’ reflections after engaging with the refutation texts showed a greater alignment with the content of the texts. The KReC framework provided insight into the processes underlying this belief change. Implications for teacher development are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
{"title":"Understanding the role of refutation texts on pre-service teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs","authors":"Dionne Cross Francis , Pavneet Kaur Bharaj , Kathryn Habib , Anna Hinden , Anna Gustaveson , Ji Hong","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101278","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101278","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Researchers converge around the idea that attending to teachers’ beliefs is essential for any instructional reform effort to be effective. However, given the mixed results of belief change efforts, questions remain about what approaches will trigger belief change. One approach that has been shown to be effective in belief and conceptual change in other disciplines, but seldom used in mathematics education, is the use of refutation texts. We investigated the influence of refutation texts on 13 Ghanaian pre-service teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs. Further, we explored the underlying process by which refutation texts may have elicited belief change by applying the Knowledge Revision Components (KReC) Framework. We observed that pre-service teachers’ reflections after engaging with the refutation texts showed a greater alignment with the content of the texts. The KReC framework provided insight into the processes underlying this belief change. Implications for teacher development are discussed along with suggestions for future research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101278"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144724728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, we examine the impact of advanced mathematics on secondary school mathematics teaching through teachers' reflections on students' reasoning. Our study explored this impact by examining how 100 in-service secondary mathematics teachers reflected on four students’ answers provided in a hypothetical teaching scenario related to numbers with double decimal representation. The notions of nonlocal and local neighborhoods of mathematics knowledge were employed to analyze the data. The results suggest that the impact of advanced mathematics on teaching identified in teachers’ reflections is related to the interplay between local and nonlocal neighborhoods of the mathematical knowledge being taught. This interplay is productive when it is epistemologically sound and is often influenced by contextual and temporal characteristics of the teaching context (e.g., the tasks provided and the associations encouraged in the moment during teaching).
{"title":"The impact of advanced mathematics in teaching school mathematics through secondary teachers’ reflections on students’ reasoning","authors":"Theodossios Zachariades , Charalampos Sakonidis , Sotirios Zoitsakos","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101277","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101277","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we examine the impact of advanced mathematics on secondary school mathematics teaching through teachers' reflections on students' reasoning. Our study explored this impact by examining how 100 in-service secondary mathematics teachers reflected on four students’ answers provided in a hypothetical teaching scenario related to numbers with double decimal representation. The notions of nonlocal and local neighborhoods of mathematics knowledge were employed to analyze the data. The results suggest that the impact of advanced mathematics on teaching identified in teachers’ reflections is related to the interplay between local and nonlocal neighborhoods of the mathematical knowledge being taught. This interplay is productive when it is epistemologically sound and is often influenced by contextual and temporal characteristics of the teaching context (e.g., the tasks provided and the associations encouraged in the moment during teaching).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101277"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144657077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-11DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101276
Nigar Altindis
This study examines the reasoning processes of secondary school students while they solve tasks that model functional relationships. It networks theories of quantitative reasoning (QR) and mathematical reasoning (MR) by comparing and contrasting while also coordinating and combining covariational reasoning (CR) with MR to investigate students’ understanding of functions within a quantitatively rich problem-solving process. The analysis draws on data from a small-scale teaching experiment involving eight participants. Students operating at Mental Actions 1–2 primarily relied on memorized strategies and surface-level properties, leading to rigid, procedural responses. In particular, students often invoked graphical forms and symbolic conventions—such as the visual shape of a graph or algebraic templates—as fixed cues for function type. This use of shape thinking and conventions reinforced imitative reasoning, as students applied familiar patterns without analyzing underlying quantitative relationships. Conversely, students demonstrating Mental Actions 3–5 exhibited creative reasoning, engaging deeply with covarying relationships to construct well-supported mathematical arguments. This study underscores the bidirectional relationship between CR and imitative reasoning, suggesting that reliance on procedural strategies both arises from and perpetuates limited conceptual understanding.
{"title":"Networking theories of quantitative reasoning and mathematical reasoning to explore students’ understanding of functions","authors":"Nigar Altindis","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101276","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101276","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the reasoning processes of secondary school students while they solve tasks that model functional relationships. It networks theories of quantitative reasoning (QR) and mathematical reasoning (MR) by comparing and contrasting while also coordinating and combining covariational reasoning (CR) with MR to investigate students’ understanding of functions within a quantitatively rich problem-solving process. The analysis draws on data from a small-scale teaching experiment involving eight participants. Students operating at Mental Actions 1–2 primarily relied on memorized strategies and surface-level properties, leading to rigid, procedural responses. In particular, students often invoked graphical forms and symbolic conventions—such as the visual shape of a graph or algebraic templates—as fixed cues for function type. This use of shape thinking and conventions reinforced imitative reasoning, as students applied familiar patterns without analyzing underlying quantitative relationships. Conversely, students demonstrating Mental Actions 3–5 exhibited creative reasoning, engaging deeply with covarying relationships to construct well-supported mathematical arguments. This study underscores the bidirectional relationship between CR and imitative reasoning, suggesting that reliance on procedural strategies both arises from and perpetuates limited conceptual understanding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101276"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101273
Brittany L. Marshall , Dan Battey
Traditional mathematics logics produce inequities that result in the perpetuation of the myths of racialized and gendered hierarchies of mathematical ability (Hottinger, 2016; Martin, 2007). There are few examples of classroom spaces that provide positive mathematics experiences for Black girls, while trying to resist traditional logics. This study looks at two successful teachers, bolstered by the nominations of their administrator and students, who navigate common structural constraints yet build strong positive mathematics identities in their middle-school Black girls. The findings show how these teachers embody aspects of BlackFMP to create safe spaces for Black girls even as they navigated school structures and mindsets that uphold traditional mathematics logics.
{"title":"“I want them to see their magic!”: Two teachers working within structural constraints to help cultivate their Black girl students’ positive mathematics identities","authors":"Brittany L. Marshall , Dan Battey","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101273","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101273","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Traditional mathematics logics produce inequities that result in the perpetuation of the myths of racialized and gendered hierarchies of mathematical ability (Hottinger, 2016; Martin, 2007). There are few examples of classroom spaces that provide positive mathematics experiences for Black girls, while trying to resist traditional logics. This study looks at two successful teachers, bolstered by the nominations of their administrator and students, who navigate common structural constraints yet build strong positive mathematics identities in their middle-school Black girls. The findings show how these teachers embody aspects of BlackFMP to create safe spaces for Black girls even as they navigated school structures and mindsets that uphold traditional mathematics logics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101273"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101274
Mathilde Kjær Pedersen , Morten Misfeldt , Uffe Thomas Jankvist
Mathematical statements involving logical quantifiers are essential in calculus and for mathematical thinking. At upper secondary level mathematics, students are confronted with the universal quantifier in the definition of differentiability of a function, going from pointwise to global (or piecewise) considerations. Based on empirical cases of students in Danish upper secondary school working with tasks on differentiability, the paper addresses students’ ways of operationalizing the ‘for all’ statement of differentiability when using Computer Algebra Systems (CAS). The analyses of the cases illustrate three different operationalizations, which build on some of the same interpretations of the universal quantifier but turned into actions in different ways. Applying instrumental genesis together with Vergnaud’s notion of scheme, the analyses illustrate how students’ anticipations of dealing with ‘for all’ differ from their operationalizations when transitioning to instrumented techniques. This is important to take into consideration when teaching ‘for all’, designing tasks and selecting if, for what and how CAS should be applied in these settings.
{"title":"Upper secondary students’ ways of operationalizing the ‘for all’ statement in examining differentiability of a function using CAS","authors":"Mathilde Kjær Pedersen , Morten Misfeldt , Uffe Thomas Jankvist","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101274","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101274","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mathematical statements involving logical quantifiers are essential in calculus and for mathematical thinking. At upper secondary level mathematics, students are confronted with the universal quantifier in the definition of differentiability of a function, going from pointwise to global (or piecewise) considerations. Based on empirical cases of students in Danish upper secondary school working with tasks on differentiability, the paper addresses students’ ways of operationalizing the ‘for all’ statement of differentiability when using Computer Algebra Systems (CAS). The analyses of the cases illustrate three different operationalizations, which build on some of the same interpretations of the universal quantifier but turned into actions in different ways. Applying instrumental genesis together with Vergnaud’s notion of scheme, the analyses illustrate how students’ anticipations of dealing with ‘for all’ differ from their operationalizations when transitioning to instrumented techniques. This is important to take into consideration when teaching ‘for all’, designing tasks and selecting if, for what and how CAS should be applied in these settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101274"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144550037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-25DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101272
Orly Buchbinder , Rebecca Butler , Sharon McCrone
Fostering student engagement with mathematical reasoning and proving requires a special kind of teacher knowledge – Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Proof (MKT-P). One important component of MKT-P is Knowledge of Content and Teaching specific to Proof (KCT-P), which is knowledge of pedagogical practices for supporting student learning of proof. Providing effective feedback on students' mathematical arguments is one of the key aspects of KCT-P. This study examined the qualitative differences in written feedback of secondary teachers, undergraduate mathematics and computer science majors, and pre-service teachers participating in a capstone course focused on mathematical reasoning and proving. The discursive distinctions in the groups’ feedback, along with changes in the feedback of prospective teachers, provide empirical support for the construct of KCT-P as knowledge unique to teachers, which develops with experience.
{"title":"Discursive differences in written feedback of individuals with varied teaching experiences: Towards validating knowledge of content and teaching specific to proof","authors":"Orly Buchbinder , Rebecca Butler , Sharon McCrone","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101272","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101272","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fostering student engagement with mathematical reasoning and proving requires a special kind of teacher knowledge – Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Proof (MKT-P). One important component of MKT-P is Knowledge of Content and Teaching specific to Proof (KCT-P), which is knowledge of pedagogical practices for supporting student learning of proof. Providing effective feedback on students' mathematical arguments is one of the key aspects of KCT-P. This study examined the qualitative differences in written feedback of secondary teachers, undergraduate mathematics and computer science majors, and pre-service teachers participating in a capstone course focused on mathematical reasoning and proving. The discursive distinctions in the groups’ feedback, along with changes in the feedback of prospective teachers, provide empirical support for the construct of KCT-P as knowledge unique to teachers, which develops with experience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101272"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144470653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101271
Catarina Dutilh Novaes
The book The Dialogical Roots of Deduction presented a detailed dialogical account of deduction, in particular of mathematical proof. The key idea is that a mathematical proof corresponds to a dialogue between two (fictive) participants, Prover and Skeptic, where Prover attempts to establish that some conclusion follows from certain premises by producing explanatory persuasion in Skeptic. While covering many aspects of mathematical proof, the book did not discuss diagrams, despite their ubiquity in mathematical practice. In this paper, I remedy this important lacuna in the original presentation of the dialogical account. I argue that diagrams play a fundamental epistemic role in eliciting active engagement from Skeptic to understand the argument put forward by Prover. To this end, Prover relies on imperatives to invite Skeptic to construct diagrams. Thus understood, the role of diagrams in mathematical proofs is primarily operative rather than semantic/representational, eliciting ‘hands-on’ engagement. In particular, I argue that diagrams in mathematical proofs are best understood as joint epistemic actions, thus highlighting their role in the production and transmission of (mathematical) knowledge and understanding. I close with some observations on the implications of this account of diagrams for mathematics education.
{"title":"Diagrams as joint epistemic actions: A dialogical account of diagrams in mathematical proofs","authors":"Catarina Dutilh Novaes","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101271","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101271","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The book <em>The Dialogical Roots of Deduction</em> presented a detailed dialogical account of deduction, in particular of mathematical proof. The key idea is that a mathematical proof corresponds to a dialogue between two (fictive) participants, Prover and Skeptic, where Prover attempts to establish that some conclusion follows from certain premises by producing explanatory persuasion in Skeptic. While covering many aspects of mathematical proof, the book did not discuss <em>diagrams</em>, despite their ubiquity in mathematical practice. In this paper, I remedy this important lacuna in the original presentation of the dialogical account. I argue that diagrams play a fundamental epistemic role in eliciting active engagement from Skeptic to understand the argument put forward by Prover. To this end, Prover relies on imperatives to invite Skeptic to construct diagrams. Thus understood, the role of diagrams in mathematical proofs is primarily <em>operative</em> rather than semantic/representational, eliciting ‘hands-on’ engagement. In particular, I argue that diagrams in mathematical proofs are best understood as <em>joint epistemic actions</em>, thus highlighting their role in the production and transmission of (mathematical) knowledge and understanding. I close with some observations on the implications of this account of diagrams for mathematics education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101271"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-19DOI: 10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101270
Fidele Ukobizaba , Jean Francois Maniraho , Alphonse Uworwabayeho
This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate issues in teaching and learning mathematics resulting from the switch to English as the medium of instruction (MoI) in primary schools in Rwanda. The study involved 18 upper primary mathematics teachers selected conveniently within Nyamagabe District, Rwanda. Thus, a semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data. Data were analyzed thematically. The study's results showed that teachers appreciated the policy of shifting to English as the Medium of Instruction and had a positive perspective on the use of English during instruction. However, teachers struggle to deliver the content in English. They sometimes teach using a combination of English and other languages, including Kinyarwanda. Teachers use textbooks written in the Anglophone or Francophone system to prepare richer content. Thus, challenges such as using mathematical symbols interchangeably were reported. Misusing mathematical symbols may affect students' conceptual understanding.
{"title":"Issues in teaching mathematics due to switching to English as a medium of instruction within primary schools of Rwanda","authors":"Fidele Ukobizaba , Jean Francois Maniraho , Alphonse Uworwabayeho","doi":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101270","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jmathb.2025.101270","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate issues in teaching and learning mathematics resulting from the switch to English as the medium of instruction (MoI) in primary schools in Rwanda. The study involved 18 upper primary mathematics teachers selected conveniently within Nyamagabe District, Rwanda. Thus, a semi-structured interview was used to collect qualitative data. Data were analyzed thematically. The study's results showed that teachers appreciated the policy of shifting to English as the Medium of Instruction and had a positive perspective on the use of English during instruction. However, teachers struggle to deliver the content in English. They sometimes teach using a combination of English and other languages, including Kinyarwanda. Teachers use textbooks written in the Anglophone or Francophone system to prepare richer content. Thus, challenges such as using mathematical symbols interchangeably were reported. Misusing mathematical symbols may affect students' conceptual understanding.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47481,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematical Behavior","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101270"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144314328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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