Cover Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

An official journal of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), JRME is the premier research journal in mathematics education and is devoted to the interests of teachers and researchers at all levels--preschool through college.

Online ISSN:
1945-2306
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Stewarding Our Commons for the Infinite Game of Research

Author:
Patricio Herbst

Citizens of democratic societies have come to be in a situation in which they are much more likely than before to connect only to like-minded people and to have little desire to talk to people who think differently. This fragmentation makes all of us prone to take offense at the views or life choices of others, to label them as deviant or ignorant, and then to feel righteous about discounting their views. Living in a democratic society can be described, in words, as an infinite game–a game that we play to be able to continue playing it.

Unit Transformation Graphs: Modeling Students’ Mathematics in Meeting the Cognitive Demands of Fractions Multiplication Tasks

This article introduces unit transformation graphs (UTGs) as a tool for diagramming the ways students use sequences of mental actions to solve mathematical tasks. We report findings from a study in which we identified patterns in the ways preservice elementary school teachers relied on working memory to coordinate mental actions when operating in fraction multiplication settings. UTGs account for the constraint of working memory in sequencing mental actions to solve mathematical tasks. They also explain the power of units coordinating structures in offloading demands on working memory. At the end of the article, we consider some of the research implications for these findings—specifically, ways that UTGs can lend explanatory and illustrative power to analyses of students’ mathematics.

From (and for) the Invisible 10%: Including Students With Learning Disabilities in Problem-Based Instruction

We present the evolving fraction conceptions of two elementary school children with mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). We use qualitative analyses to capture the mathematical knowledge and experiences of each child and show how teaching was used to support advancement of their fractional reasoning. Results illustrate two viable pathways of advancing fractional thinking, both of which reflect students’ increasing levels of units coordination over time. We argue that recognizing and building on each child’s strengths—while respecting and accommodating for their MLD—was central to promoting their learning. Results provide an existence proof of a new evidence base for student-centered, problem-based instruction for students with MLD, grounded in a careful understanding of student mathematical thinking and accommodations for cognitive differences.

Toward Professional Development for Multimodal Teacher Noticing

Considerable research has been conducted on the critical role of gesture and action in children’s mathematical thinking. However, teacher professional development (PD) has not tended to include specific supports for attending to nonverbal student thinking. In this Brief Report, we argue for including supports for multimodal teacher noticing in teacher PD. We illustrate how a targeted intervention can relatively quickly support teachers in learning to notice multimodal student thinking and demonstrate how shifting teachers’ attention to gesture can enrich how they interpret the details of students’ thinking.

The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education is published online five times a year—January, March, May, July, and November—at 1906 Association Dr., Reston, VA 20191-1502. Each volume’s index is in the November issue. JRME is indexed in Contents Pages in Education, Current Index to Journals in Education, Education Index, Psychological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index, and MathEduc.

An official journal of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), JRME is the premier research journal in mathematics education and is devoted to the interests of teachers and researchers at all levels--preschool through college. JRME presents a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in JRME are not the official position of the Council unless otherwise noted.

JRME is a forum for disciplined inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics. The editors encourage submissions including:

  • Research reports, addressing important research questions and issues in mathematics education,
  • Brief reports of research,
  • Research commentaries on issues pertaining to mathematics education research.

 

More information about each type of submission is available here. If you have questions about the types of manuscripts JRME publishes, please contact jrme@nctm.org.

Editorial Board

The JRME Editorial Board consists of the Editorial Team and Editorial Panel.  The Editorial team, led by JRME Editor Patricio Herbst, leads the review, decision and editorial/publication process for manuscripts.  The Editorial Panel reviews manuscripts, sets policy for the journal, and continually seeks feedback from readers. The following are members of the current JRME Editorial Board.

Editorial Staff  

Patricio Herbst

University of Michigan; Editor

Sandra Crespo     

 Michigan State University; Associate Editor
Percival Matthews University of Wisconsin - Madison; Associate Editor
Erin Lichtenstein

University of Michigan; Assistant Editor
Michael Ion

University of Michigan; Editorial Assistant
Daniel Chazan University of Maryland; Research Commentary Editor


Editorial Panel 

Karl Kosko

Kent State University; Chair

Jennifer Suh

George Mason University; Board of Directors Liaison
Lillie Albert

Boston College

Tutita Casa

 University of Connecticut

Theodore Chao               

Ohio State University                

Toya Frank

George Mason University

Luis Levya

 Vanderbilt University

Ami Mamolo

 Ontario Tech University

Kate Melhuish

Texas State University

Chandra Orrill

Rethink Learning Labs

Eva Thanheiser

Portland State University

Annie Wilhelm

Washington State University

William Zahner

San Diego State University

David E. Barnes

NCTM, Reston, Virginia; Staff Liaison

 

International Advisory Board  

Colin Foster

 United Kingdom

Faaiz Gierdien

South Africa

Einat Heyd-Metzuyanim

Israel

Haiyue Jin

China

Oh Nam Kwon

South Korea

Thomas Lowrie

Australia

Luis Pino-Fan

Chile

 

Headquarters Journal Staff 

David E. Barnes

Associate Executive Director

Ken Krehbiel

Executive Director

Scott Rodgerson

Director of Publications and Creative Services 

Sandy Jones

Production Manager

 

 

The editors of the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME) encourage the submission of a variety of manuscripts.

Manuscripts must be submitted through the JRME Online Submission and Review System. 

Research Reports

JRME publishes a wide variety of research reports that move the field of mathematics education forward. These include, but are not limited to, various genres and designs of empirical research; philosophical, methodological, and historical studies in mathematics education; and literature reviews, syntheses, and theoretical analyses of research in mathematics education. Papers that review well for JRME generally include these Characteristics of a High-Quality Manuscript. The editors strongly encourage all authors to consider these characteristics when preparing a submission to JRME. 

The maximum length for Research Reports is 13,000 words including abstract, references, tables, and figures.

Brief Reports

Brief reports of research are appropriate when a fuller report is available elsewhere or when a more comprehensive follow-up study is planned.

  • A brief report of a first study on some topic might stress the rationale, hypotheses, and plans for further work.
  • A brief report of a replication or extension of a previously reported study might contrast the results of the two studies, referring to the earlier study for methodological details.
  • A brief report of a monograph or other lengthy nonjournal publication might summarize the key findings and implications or might highlight an unusual observation or methodological approach.
  • A brief report might provide an executive summary of a large study.

The maximum length for Brief Reports is 5,000 words including abstract, references, tables, and figures. If source materials are needed to evaluate a brief report manuscript, a copy should be included.

Manuscripts must be submitted through the JRME Online Submission and Review System. 

Other correspondence regarding manuscripts for Research Reports or Brief Reports should be sent to

Patricio Herbst, JRME Editor, jrme@nctm.org.

Research Commentaries

The journal publishes brief (5,000 word), peer-reviewed commentaries on issues that reflect on mathematics education research as a field and steward its development. Research Commentaries differ from Research Reports in that their focus is not to present new findings or empirical results, but rather to comment on issues of interest to the broader research community. 

Research Commentaries are intended to engage the community and increase the breadth of topics addressed in JRME. Typically, Research Commentaries—

  • address mathematics education research as a field and endeavor to move the field forward;
  • speak to the readers of the journal as an audience of researchers; and
  • speak in ways that have relevance to all mathematics education researchers, even when addressing a particular point or a particular subgroup.

Authors of Research Commentaries should share their perspectives while seeking to invite conversation and dialogue, rather than close off opportunities to learn from others, especially those whose work they might be critiquing. 

Foci of Research Commentaries vary widely. They may include, but are not restricted to the following:

  • Discussion of connections between research and NCTM-produced documents
  • Advances in research methods
  • Discussions of connections among research, policy, and practice
  • Analyses of trends in policies for funding research
  • Examinations of evaluation studies
  • Critical essays on research publications that have implications for the mathematics education research community
  • Interpretations of previously published research in JRME that bring insights from an equity lens
  • Exchanges among scholars holding contrasting views about research-related issues

Read more about Research Commentaries in our May 2023 editorial. 

The maximum length for Research Commentaries is 5,000 words, including abstract, references, tables, and figures.

Manuscripts must be submitted through the JRME Online Submission and Review System. 

Other correspondence regarding Research Commentary manuscripts should be sent to: 

Daniel Chazan, JRME Research Commentary Editor, jrme-rc@nctm.org.

Tools for Authors

The forms below provide information to authors and help ensure that NCTM complies with all copyright laws: 

Student Work Release

Photographer Copyright Release

Video Permission

 

Want to Review?

Find more information in this flyer about how to become a reviewer for JRME. 

The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education is available to individuals as part of an NCTM membership or may be accessible through an institutional subscription.

The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education (JRME), an official journal of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), is the premier research journal in math education and devoted to the interests of teachers and researchers at all levels--preschool through college.

JRME is published five times a year—January, March, May, July, and November—and presents a variety of viewpoints. Learn more about JRME.

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