Annotated Bibliography
Bybee, Rodger. The BSCS 5E Instructional Model: Creating Teachable Moments. Arlington: National Science Teachers Association Press, 2015.
Bybee elaborates on his BSCS 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) with research-based evidence of the success of its individual components and application of the model to STEM education.
Fujii, Toshiakira. “Understanding the Concept of Variable Through Whole-Class Discussions: The Community of Inquiry from a Japanese Perspective.” In Algebra Teaching around the World, edited by Frederick K. S. Leung, Kyungmee Park, Derek Holton, and David Clarke, 129-148. Rotterdam: SensePublishers, 2014.
In this chapter, Fujii discusses the Japanese teaching practice of Kikan-jyunshi, or Kikan-shido, through a case study involving student understanding of variables.
Hegarty, Mary, Richard E. Mayer, and Christopher A. Monk. “Comprehension of Arithmetic Word Problems: A Comparison of Successful and Unsuccessful Problem Solvers.” Journal of Educational Psychology 87, no. 1 (March 1995): 18-32.
authors of this article discuss how the direct translation strategy approach to word problems is largely unsuccessful, as students are merely following a procedure and don’t have the conceptual understanding of the word problem itself. The problem-model strategy, on the other hand, is much more successful, as students create a model to describe the situation at hand and then solve the equation.
Howe, Roger. “From Arithmetic to Algebra.” Mathematics Bulletin: A Journal for Educators, 13-22.
Roger makes the compelling case in this article that teaching students algebra through word problems can help students truly understand algebra rather than having a basic, procedural knowledge of the subject. Furthermore, he suggests that showing both the arithmetic and algebraic methods of solving the equations can help students facilitate a conceptual understanding of algebra.
Slavin, Robert. “Co-operative learning: what makes group-work work?.” The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice, edited by H. Dumont, D. Istance and F. Benavides, 161-178. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2010.
In this chapter, Slavin reviews studies around two types of cooperative learning practices in schools- “Structured Team Learning” and “Informal Group Learning”- and compares the effectiveness of the two. Largely positive results were identified in this literature review, particularly when the group goals are clearly stated and when there is individual accountability within each member of the group.
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