The May issue of Instructional Science has recently been published. This issue contains five articles, and at least one of them is directly related to mathematics education. Here is the list of articles in the issue:

• The use of language in understanding subject matter, by Lennart Svensson, Elsie Anderberg, Christer Alvegård and Thorsten Johansson
• Online but off-topic: negotiating common ground in small learning groups, by Trena M. Paulus
• The building of pre-service primary teachers’ knowledge of mathematics teaching: interaction and online video case studies, by Salvador Llinares and Julia Valls
• The learners’ experience of variation: following students’ threads of learning physics in computer simulation sessions, by Åke Ingerman, Cedric Linder and Delia Marshall
• The development of science activities via on-line peer assessment: the role of scientific epistemological views, by Chin-Chung Tsai and Jyh-Chong Liang

The May issue of Educational Studies in Mathematics has been published. This issue contains four scientific articles and a book review:

• Acquisition and use of shortcut strategies by traditionally schooled children, by Joke Torbeyns, Bert De Smedt, Pol Ghesquière and Lieven Verschaffel
• From arithmetical thought to algebraic thought: The role of the “variable”, by Elsa Malisani and Filippo Spagnolo
• The relationship between performance on mathematical word problems and language proficiency for students learning through the medium of Irish, by Máire Ní Ríordáin and John O’Donoghue
• Teachers’ emergent goals in spreadsheet-based lessons: analyzing the complexity of technology integration, by Jean-Baptiste Lagrange and Emel Ozdemir Erdogan
• Book review: mathematics classrooms in twelve countries, Clarke, D., Keitel, C., & Shimizu, Y. (Eds.). (2006). Mathematics classrooms in twelve countries: The insider’s perspective. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Feral Ogan-Bekiroglu and Hatice Akkoç have written an article called PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ INSTRUCTIONAL BELIEFS AND EXAMINATION OF CONSISTENCY BETWEEN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES. The article was published online in International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education last week. Here is their article abstract:

The purposes of this study were to determine preservice physics teachers’ instructional beliefs and to investigate the relationship between their beliefs and practices. The theoretical framework was based on the combination Haney & McArthur’s (Science Education, 86(6):783–802, 2002) research and Ford’s (1992) motivation systems theory. A multicase study design was utilized for the research in order to focus on a belief–practice relationship within several examples. Semistructured interviews, observations, and preservice teachers’ written documents were used to collect data. Results showed that most preservice teachers held instructional beliefs aligned with constructivist philosophy. Some of the preservice teachers’ beliefs were consistent with their practices while some of them presented different practices from their beliefs in different placements.

Kim Agatha Ramatlapana has written an article that was recently published online in Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. The article is entitled Provision of in-service training of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana: teachers’ perspectives. Here is the abstract:

Teaching is a field that is dynamic, with innovations necessitating upgrading of skills and education of teachers for the successful implementation of reforms. The behaviour and attitudes of teachers towards teaching and learning and their knowledge banks are the result of the impact of in-service training. This study investigated the perceptions of mathematics and science teachers in Botswana towards in-service provision by the Department of Mathematics and Science Education In-service Training unit (DMSE-INSET), whose mandate is to improve the quality of teaching by supporting teachers through training programmes that enable them to take ownership of their professional development. Data were collected from a sample of 42 senior Mathematics and Science secondary school teachers, using structured interviews with open-ended questions, which were analyzed qualitatively. The findings show that teachers’ concerns included the lack of impact of current in-service training programmes on the education system, no regular follow-up activities to support the one-off workshops and insufficient skills acquired to sustain the implementation of the strategies solicited by the workshops.

Miriam Godoy Penteado and Ole Skovsmose have written an article called How to drag with a worn-out mouse? Searching for social justice through collaboration. This article was recently published online in Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. Here is the article abstract:

We consider what a concern for social justice in terms of social inclusion might mean for teacher education, both practising and prospective, with particular reference to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in mathematics education taking place at a borderland school. Our discussion proceeds through the following steps: (1) We explore what a borderland position might denote to address what social inclusion might mean. (2) We consider the significance of mathematics education and the use of ICT for processes of social inclusion. (3) We briefly refer to the Interlink Network, as many of our observations emerge as reflections on this project. (4) We present different issues that will be of particular importance with respect to teacher education if we want to establish a mathematics education for social inclusion. These issues concern moving away from the comfort zone, establishing networks, identifying new approaches, moving beyond prototypical research, and getting in contact. This brings us to (5) final considerations, where we return to the notion of social justice.

D.G. Mallet and S.W. McCue have written an article called Constructive development of the solutions of linear equations in introductory ordinary differential equations. The article has been published online in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. Here is the abstract of their article:

The solution of linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is commonly taught in first-year undergraduate mathematics classrooms, but the understanding of the concept of a solution is not always grasped by students until much later. Recognizing what it is to be a solution of a linear ODE and how to postulate such solutions, without resorting to tables of solutions, is an important skill for students to carry with them to advanced courses in mathematics. In this study, we describe a teaching and learning strategy that replaces the traditional algorithmic, transmission presentation style for solving ODEs with a constructive, discovery-based approach where students employ their existing skills as a framework for constructing the solutions of first and second-order linear ODEs. We elaborate on how the strategy was implemented and discuss the resulting impact on a first-year undergraduate class. Finally, we propose further improvements to the strategy as well as suggesting other topics which could be taught in a similar manner.

Paul M.E. Shutler has written an article called The problem of the pyramid or Egyptian mathematics from a postmodern perspective. The article was published in the latest issue of International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. Here is the abstract of Shutler’s article:

We consider Egyptian mathematics from a postmodern perspective, by which we mean suspending judgement as to strict correctness in order to appreciate the genuine mathematical insights which they did have in the context in which they were working. In particular we show that the skill which the Egyptians possessed of obtaining the general case from a specific numerical example suggests a complete solution to the well-known, but hitherto not completely resolved, question of how the volume of the truncated pyramid given in Problem 14 of the Moscow papyrus was derived. We also point out some details in Problem 48 of the Rhind papyrus, on the area of the circle, which have previously gone unnoticed. Finally, since many of their mathematical insights have long been forgotten, and fall within the modern school syllabus, we draw some important lessons for contemporary mathematics education.

Bulent Guven and Ilhan Karatas have written an article called Students discovering spherical geometry using dynamic geometry software. The article was published in the last issue of International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. Here is the abstract of their article:

Dynamic geometry software (DGS) such as Cabri and Geometers’ Sketchpad has been regularly used worldwide for teaching and learning Euclidean geometry for a long time. The DGS with its inductive nature allows students to learn Euclidean geometry via explorations. However, with respect to non-Euclidean geometries, do we need to introduce them to students in a deductive manner? Do students have quite different experiences in non-Euclidean environment? This study addresses these questions by illustrating the student mathematics teachers’ actions in dynamic spherical geometry environment. We describe how student mathematics teachers explore new conjectures in spherical geometry and how their conjectures lead them to find proofs in DGS.