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David Clarke's research has shifted the focus of classroom research in mathematics education from study of cultural patterns to study of patterns of participation and the learning that can result in highly complex social environments. His Complementary Accounts Methodology which informed the Learner's Perspective Study design included multi-source data collection generated through the latest technological advances at that time. That research design enriched the author's doctoral research which was situated within the Learner's Perspective Study. One intention of this paper is to highlight ways in which Clarke's methodology added to the richness of the study Williams undertook, in particular, the flexibility of Clarke's methodology in enabling adaptation to support a theoretical framework that included but extended beyond social theories of learning. In doing so, this paper draws attention to an aspect of Clarke's methodological legacy, the potential for his Complementary Accounts Methodology to contribute to support of researchers employing diverse theoretical frameworks. [Author abstract]

Advocacy of STEM curricular approaches is based on a concern to engage students in authentic disciplinary and interdisciplinary practices in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines, and the need to promote participation in STEM pathways. The STEM Academy professional learning program was developed to support teachers to engage and motivate students by creating real-world, challenging problems. The initiative involved interdisciplinary teams of secondary STEM teachers attending workshops and working with university experts to design, implement and evaluate STEM curricular experiences. This paper focuses on case studies undertaken in two of the twelve schools involved in the initiative, using interview data from teachers and students, to explore the nature of their programs and their experiences. We investigate key features of these two schools' approaches, using a conceptual framework for integrated STEM, and explore the challenges and benefits of different features of integrated STEM that promote different dimensions of engagement in learning mathematics. We explore how the framework characteristics can be reframed into four dimensions that promote mathematics engagement in integrated STEM education - design thinking in authentic contexts, content integration, STEM practices and 21st Century skills, and exposure to professional practice. [Author abstract]

Mathematical reasoning, which plays a critical role in students’ capacity to make sense of mathematics, is now emphasised more strongly in various curricula internationally. However, reasoning is sometimes difficult for teachers to recognise, let alone teach. This case study considers video of one teacher’s implementation of a problem-solving lesson in a year 1 primary school class in Australia. It examines the opportunities this teacher provided to leverage reasoning and contributes to the body of knowledge on ways reasoning may be elicited during problem solving. The new Eliciting Mathematical Reasoning Framework arising from the analysis of the data in this study builds on and extends previous research. It provides a tool to support researchers, teacher educators, professional learning providers, and teachers in recognising and eliciting reasoning.

Optimism supports creative mathematical problem-solving. To elaborate its nature, empirical data were analysed to identify relationships between optimism and more commonly researched constructs, confidence, and persistence. To do so, theoretical links between these constructs were first explored. Theoretically, confidence and persistence were found to be mutually exclusive personal characteristics possessed by optimistic students. Then, five elementary school students were purposefully selected from a broader longitudinal video-stimulated interview study of the role of optimism in collaborative problem-solving to find whether all combinations of confidence and persistence existed. Activity of students possessing different combinations of confidence and persistence was analysed to determine whether there were differences in their problem-solving activity. Perseverance emerged as a third mutually exclusive characteristic within optimism. By distinguishing between persistence and perseverance, the crucial nature of perseverance in creative mathematical thinking was illuminated. These findings should inform teachers, teacher educators, and researchers interested in building optimism to increase problem-solving capacity. [Author abstract]

Research in learning and cognition continues to extend the boundaries of possibilities for theoretical frameworks, research designs, and questions interrogated. This overview captures a snapshot of recent research for the purpose of drawing attention to new directions. It includes: types of theoretical frameworks employed to study student learning, the reciprocity of teaching and learning, and identifying underpinning conceptual understanding that can contribute to curriculum development, including a discussion paper on possible roles of algorithms. Future directions for research are then discussed. The papers in this special issue are briefly introduced in relevant sections. This paper draws attention to the increased use of multi-theoretical perspectives and what they have enabled us to learn about the complexities of teaching and learning in classrooms. It also draws attention to some of the innovative research designs and analysis techniques that have been employed to enable the answering of various research questions. [Author abstract]

By examining theological and literary narratives through an engagement with well-known theorists of reading and religion, this collection of essays, international in perspective, brings together varied, refreshing and provocative responses to well-established literary and critical theories.

The relationship between normative patterns of social interaction and children's mathematical thinking was investigated in 5 classes (4 reform and 1 conventional) of 7- to 8-year-olds. In earlier studies, lessons from these classes had been analyzed for the nature of interaction broadly defined; the results indicated the existence of 4 types of classroom cultures (conventional textbook, conventional problem solving, strategy reporting, and inquiry/argument). In the current study, 42 lessons from this data resource were analyzed for children's mathematical thinking as verbalized in class discussions and for interaction patterns. These analyses were then combined to explore the relationship between interaction types and expressed mathematical thinking. The results suggest that increased complexity in children's expressed mathematical thinking was closely related to the types of interaction patterns that differentiated class discussions among the 4 classroom cultures.

There is evidence that spontaneous learning leads to relational understanding and high positive affect. To study spontaneous abstracting, a model was constructed by combining the RBC model of abstraction with Krutetskii's mental activities. Using video-stimulated interviews, the model was then used to analyse the behaviour of two Year 8 students, one from the United States and one from Australia, who had demonstrated spontaneous abstracting. The analysis highlighted the crucial role of synthetic and evaluative analysis, two processes that seem unlikely to occur under guided construction. The Spontaneous Abstracting Model was found sufficient to describe and elaborate the spontaneous abstracting processes employed by Kerri and Eden, and to illuminate the commonalities between them. The diversity of these two cases supports the robustness of the model. This study confirms that deep understanding can result from spontaneous abstracting and suggests that this type of learning could lead to more connected understandings than guided learning. [Author abstract, ed]

Considers the impact of services public libraries provide to union members, particularly access to computers, based on experiences with the SEIU (Service Employees International Union). Topics include training; resources for families; education; and Locals Online, a program that provides training and Web content to SEIU local unions. (LRW)