Document Type Book Publisher Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Centre, Edith Cowan University Place of Publication Perth, Western Australia School Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Centre Comments McIntosh, A., Reys, B., Reys, R., Bana, J., Farrell, B. (1997). Number sense in school mathematics: student performance in four countries. Perth, Australia: Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Centre, Edith Cowan University. Abstract Since 1988 teams of researchers in the United States, Japan and Australia have been involved in a collaborative research project to assess the mental computation ability of their students. The results of this research have been reported elsewhere (Mcintosh, Bana & Farrell 1995; Mcintosh, Nohda, Reys & Reys 1995). The researchers involved were Professors Robert and Barbara Reys of the University of Missouri Columbia, Professor Nobuhiko Nohda of the University of Tsukuba and Alistair Mcintosh, Jack Bana and Brian Farrell of Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia.

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Number sense in school mathematics: student performance in four countries

Mental computation is an important aspect of numeracy. There is little information available, however, about appropriate sequences of learning, or what can be expected of students in different years. The responses of 3035 students in years 3 to 10 to linked tests of mental computation were placed on a single scale using Rasch modelling techniques. An eight level scale of mental computation development was identified, and student achievement across the years was mapped onto these levels. The findings and their implications for the classroom are discussed.

Mental Computation Competence Across Years 3 to 10

In this thesis I examine what I learnt from teacher education projects implemented in Cambodia between 2001 and 2011. I show how global, regional, national and local agendas impact on project planning, implementation and evaluation. I use a set of questions to structure my thesis based on my early experience of working in Cambodia on education projects. 

In the first half of the thesis I explore how educational development projects work in relationship to multi-level contexts. I draw on research in the field of comparative and international education to contextualise the work and to justify the units of analysis. The types of data I collected and methods used reflect the different projects and the extent to which I had control over the research that was undertaken. By contextualising teacher education in the wider development agendas of international aid, neoliberal economic policies and world education culture I show how these agendas impact on project design, implementation and evaluation. Then, by analysing two projects in detail, I demonstrate how international agendas affect the project outcomes at a local level. 

In the second half of the thesis I move away from the technical aspects of project design to address concepts of culture, religion, history and language in Cambodia through an exploration of the available literature, an examination of project data and by regularly interviewing six Khmer mathematics educators. Grounding the cultural concepts in the real experiences of Cambodians allowed ‘local voice’ to be given the same value as global educational priorities.

In the conclusion, the original questions and the extent to which they have been answered are again considered. This leads to a list of ‘generic activities and orientation questions’ that I hope will contribute to the planning of other international educators encountering the field of educational development for the first time.

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What Do You Need to Know to Design a Teacher Education Project? An Analysis of How Teacher Education Projects Are Implemented in Cambodia Against a Backdrop of Global Policy and Local Contexts

Cross-Cultural Studies in Gifted Education

In 1998, when I was in the process of applying for permanent residency in the United States, I was required to make a submission on my professional accomplishments to the then Department of Immigration and Naturalization. One of the major criteria I had to satisfy in this submission was as follows: Demonstrate that your research over the last 20 years has made an impact in at least five different countries. Provide supporting letters from people in these countries. I remember pondering at the time about the word impact and even more strenuously about how I would find people who were willing to convince the immigration authorities that my research had made an impact in their country. What kinds of people should I ask to write letters of support? How should their supporting evidence be organized to demonstrate that my research had made an impact? In some sense the notion of impact has come back to haunt me in this paper because it is an intimidating task to survey an extensive range of research that has undergone changes in philosophy, purpose, and design since my involvement in the first review of Australian research in mathematics education (Jones, 1984). Before returning to the 1984 review and the meaning of impact let me look briefly at why it is important to look back over extended periods of research activity. The Need to Revisit Extended Periods of Research The Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) has been very faithful in undertaking 4-year reviews ever since the inaugural 1984 review; consequently, one might question the need to look at a 20-year period. What else could be ascertained that could not be found in the aggregation of the 4-year reviews? First, it seems to me that a longer review has a better opportunity to identify Australasian research themes that are enduring and areas that are new or emerging. Second, the longer review should be able to differentiate between sustainable changes and passing aberrations in the research process. Third, given the global influences on MERGA itself,

The impact of 20 years of research

The study was conducted to explore performance on a variety of mental computation tasks using two presentation formats (visual and oral). Students at four grade levels between grades 2 and 9 in three countries (Australia, Japan, United States) were given a group administered mental computation test consisting of two parts (oral presentation format, visual presentation format).

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF01274093.pdf

Nobuhiko Nohda

Papers

Mental computation performance in Australia, Japan and the United States