This Topic Study Group intends to stimulate people’s interest in research on classroom practice in mathematics, and to strengthen the use, knowledge and understanding of that practice. Studies and comparisons of classroom practice in mathematics are clearly one of the goals that Felix Klein proposed to the Union of Mathematicians in connection with the foundation of ICMI. These studies focus on classroom observations and deal with significant events which happen in classrooms, mainly those which depend on teacher’s actions. Thus classroom observations and significant events must be the key base and result of scientific studies on teaching. The central focus of the topics we want to examine in an experimental way in relation to questions about teaching mathematics must be based on arguments resulting from observations of classroom practices. Thus we think it advisable that the major part of that type of studies should be distributed according to the various study topics of ICME. This is the first time that ICME has offered a topic study group for research on classroom practice. We are interested to receive and review all the papers by researchers of ICME, in order to give an informed overview of the field. On the other hand, we want to improve and to discuss ways of organizing observations, means of observation, ways of describing and recognizing teaching-learning phenomena, ways of knowing what can be reproduced, means to identify what we are looking for, what we know, and why we are sure we know it.

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As there are diversified theoretical frameworks and practices in mathematics education between different countries, one of the goals is to help the group understand various practices in different didactical systems and the theories supporting these practices. For this purpose, this group intends to address the following general issues:

• • Classroom practices within well-defined didactical systems
• • Classroom practices promoted by research projects
• • Analytical accounts of empirical lessons based on observations of classroom practices
• • Comparison of classroom practices between different systems
• • Perspectives (theoretical, socio-cultural, political) informing different classroom practices and analysis of these.

There may also be variations in practices as a result of the mathematical topics and focus of the lessons, e.g., classroom practices in algebra lessons may be very different from those in geometry, classroom practices in promoting problem solving and learning of basic skills. Therefore, we may also consider themes such as:

• • Classroom practices for the teaching of specific topics
• • Classroom practices for specific mathematical processes such as problem solving, investigation, projects, basic skills.

We want to present contributions which represent current practices and perspectives and to share main tendencies in this topic, to identify needs, to discuss and suggest orientations for future research. We hope to maintain and strengthen this topic for the next ICME.

Other examples and suggestions

There exist many other specific forms of contributions acceptable for presentation such as:

• • Conditions of the reproducibility of practices, situations or processes
• • Comparison between teachers’ strategies, and didactical or epistemological rules, following different situations and steps of the teaching and learning process
• • Use of statistical methods for the analysis of observations in the classroom
• • Ethical considerations for classroom observations, examples of violations and their effects
• • The reciprocal role of the knowledge to be taught and the tacit knowledge in the didactic interactions
• • etc.

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• • To gather, document, bring closer and compare studies on classroom practice independently of the reasons for which they were carried out.
• • To present and compare classroom practices following different conditions or mathematical topics.
• • To present projects of multimedia-library to preserve the observations of classes (video recordings, transcriptions of lessons, collection of pupils’ work, preparation of lessons, etc), to classify them and make analytical accounts of these available to researchers
• • To reflect on the bases and the methods which legitimate the contributions of observations of classroom practice in research on mathematics teaching
• • To reflect on the uses of these observations and of their results in education systems

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The focus of TSG 24 is a discussion of research related to mathematics classroom practice. Classroom practice includes practices located within the classroom as a system in which activities of learning and teaching processes are embedded. A consideration of the mathematics classroom as a system requires the study of the interactions between: the mathematical content to be taught and learned, the activity of the teacher and the work of the students. In the interaction processes, mathematical content is contextualized through situations and the teacher plays an important role related to his/her knowledge and his/her teaching practice. It is important to understand through research the nature and extent of the interactions in the mathematics classroom, the complexity of the didactic system, the roles of the teacher and students in the interaction processes when the mathematical content is taught and learned and the complexity of the activities in mathematics classrooms.

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Authors submitting a paper to this group should specify which of the above issues they are contributing to. TSGs will have scheduled sessions in the program. Therefore, only a limited number of papers can be accepted and presented orally during the conference. Some papers will be accepted for distribution and they will be posted on the website only.

Please send all papers to the co-chairs of the Organizing Team:

Ida Ah Chee Mok (China, Hong Kong SAR) co-chair [iacmok@hku.hk] Guy Brousseau (France) co-chair [guy.brousseau@numericable.fr]

Guidelines:

• 1. Papers should be about research, be related to mathematics education, and conform to the aims, scope and goals of the TSG 24.

• 2. To be accepted, articles should meet at least the following criteria:

Empirical or developmental:(a) a clear statement of the purpose of the paper, (b) theoretical framework and related literature, (c) methodology, (c) synthesis and discussion of results and implications, (d) clarity, and (e) relevance to the TSG 24 audience.

Theoretical essays: (a) a statement about the focus of the paper, (b) theoretical framework, reference and related literature, and; (c) a clearly articulated statement of the author’s position on the subject, (d) clarity and (e) relevance to the TSG 24 audience.

• 3. Papers previously presented at international conferences cannot be accepted.

• 4. Each participant may propose only ONE paper, although a group of authors may propose several papers, each one to be presented by a different author attending the conference.

The format of papers must be as follows:

• 1. A maximum of eight pages, including references, tables, figures and appendices.
• 2. Written in English using Times 12-point font, 12-point line space, and 6 points between paragraphs (except tables: 6 points after paragraphs); Paper size A4 and margins: 25 mm (all sides).
• 3. The title should be centered (in 14 point bold capitals), author(s) name(s) (in 12 point bold), affiliation(s) of author(s) (in 12 point italics) and email address, in this order; all in Times.
• 4. The name of the presenting author(s) should be underlined.
• 5. The paper must begin with an abstract of up to ten lines, single-spaced, in italics.
• 6. References should be in the style used in Educational Studies in Mathematics (ESM)

Paper review process:

All papers will be reviewed by three reviewers. We will use a peer review process. Authors will be invited to help with the reviewing process. If authors are able to help with the reviewing process, please kindly indicate the number of papers they can help to review while submitting their papers to the co-chairs. Reviewers will recommend acceptance, acceptance with modification, or rejection of a manuscript. The final decision will be made by the co-chairs of the group.

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TSG 24 invites contribution of research papers (empirical, theoretical, or developmental). In the papers, the author (s) can obviously be interested in presenting and discussing their research including the following types of information (related to the above general issues):

• 1. Statements of practices, descriptions of classes, chronicles, and episodes.

• 2. Research using the statements of practices to answer questions about teaching, or comparisons, for example. Identification and analysis of classroom practices and their conditions…

• 3. Theoretical and experimental studies on the tools of analysis of the practices in the classroom; on the concept of classroom practice, on their identifiers, their characteristics, on what is observable; their relationship with the school processes, with conditions and situations in which they appear; relations with the results; studies about the methods of research, etc.

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TSG 24 will have two one-hour and two ninety-minute sessions in the congress timetable. Participants will be expected to stay in this TSG throughout the four sessions. Based on the reading of the accepted papers, some papers will be accepted for oral presentations which will be divided into some subgroups (themes). Some papers will be accepted for distribution and they will be posted on the website only.

If possible, we will explore the feasibility of organizing a forum, open to all, for discussions by email before the conference. Details of the forum may be posted on the web with the accepted papers.

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Topic Study Group 24: Research on classroom practice

Timetable

(Each oral presentation have 24 minutes including questioning)

Tuesday First session: 1 hour
Time	Room A	Room B
12h- 12.12	Presentation and organization of TSG24 meeting by Co-chairs
(12.12-13h) 2 presentations de 24 minutes	02 Organization of the study in 10th grade classes analysis of the didactical contracts 08 The explanation of the teachers. An experience study of the notion of similarity in upper middle level	01 Solving Mathematical Word Problems in Primary Grades 05 Confucian Heuristics and Mathematics Teaching in Shanghai: Qifa Shi Teaching
Wednesday Second session: 1h 30
Time	Room A	Room B
(12h -13.30) 3 presentations de 24 minutes	04 Studying arguments in mathematics classroom. A case study 07 A theoretical characterization of service mathematics. 10 The reproducibility phenomenon in the context of teacher-student interactions.	11 Supporting secondary novices’ efforts to implement a Pedagogy consonant with the NCTM teaching standards 12 Motion sensor: a learning tool for reading function graphs 15 Exploring functional relationships to foster Algebraic thinking in grade 8
12 minutes	Questions and debates
Friday Third session: 1hour
Time	Room A	Room B
(12. 30 -13.30) 2 presentations of 24 minutes	14 Communication in the classroom: practice and Reflection of a mathematics teacher 17 Tensions in integrating mathematics and other school disciplines: Cases from classroom teachers in South Africa	16 A glimpse of a mathematical enculturator in Chinese mathematics classrooms: an example from a shanghai lesson 18 A trajectory to generalization: the teacher’s support to pupils’ mathematical investigations in the classroom
(12 minutes)	(All in Room A) 06 Status and methods of observation of classroom practices: Pieces of discussion from the example of the COREM (Chopin presented by Guy)
Saturday Fourth session: 1:30 hour
Time	Room A	Room B
(12 -13.30) 2 presentations of 24 minutes	21 A-didactical situation in multicultural primary school 22 Sharpening Teaching Ability in K-8 Mathematics Classrooms	19 Secondary school students’ understanding of the Concept of function 20 The Impact of Written Reflections in a Geometry Course for preservice Elementary Teachers
30 minutes	Questions and debates (All in Room A)
12 minutes	Perspectives and conclusions Co Chair (Ida) (All in Room A)

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