Studying worked examples providing problem solutions to learners usually leads to better test performance than solving the equivalent problems without guidance, demonstrating the worked-example effect. The generation effect occurs when learners who generate answers without guidance learn better than those who read answers that provide guidance.…

The aim of this article was to find the connections between teachers' actions (N = 7) and their 3rd graders' performances (N = 86) when solving an open problem. A lot of information about the teaching sessions was gathered by video recordings and collecting pupils' solutions. Teachers' actions were analysed carefully through the phases of a…

Elementary students' difficulties with angles in geometry are well documented, but we know little about how they conceptualize angles while solving problems and how their thinking changes over time. In this study, we examined 26 third and fourth grade students completing a body-based angle task supported by the Kinect for Windows. We used…

Developing fluency in arithmetic facts is instrumental to mathematics learning. This study compares the effects of two practice conditions on children's fluency in simple multiplication facts. Third and fourth graders in the Netherlands (N = 282) practised in either a conventional "recall" condition where they produced answers to…

Many studies have tested external supports for promoting productive collaboration, but relatively few have examined what features characterize naturally productive collaborative tasks. Two lines of research have come to distinct conclusions on the primary task feature associated with productive collaboration: demonstrability versus complexity.…

This study investigated the effectiveness of "Math Explorer" at enhancing the word problem-solving skills of students with mathematics difficulties (MD). The study, which had a multiple-probe-across-subjects design, was conducted over 18 weeks. Four students with MD in Grades 2 and 3 participated. All students were able to use the four-step…

In recent years, the mathematics education research community has given increased focus to the use of cognitively demanding, challenging tasks and the demands placed on students and teachers by their use. In particular, there is evidence that a major issue is students' lack of persistence when working on such tasks. In this article, we report on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of online (web-based) creative problem-solving (CPS) activities on student technological creativity and to examine the characteristics of student creativity in the context of online CPS. A pretest-posttest quasi-experiment was conducted with 107 fourth-grade students in Taiwan. The…

Client-centered and consultee-centered consultation models are predominately used in K-12 schools to meet the needs of at-risk learners and ensure equitable access to educational services. Although the efficacy of both models has significant support in the literature, studies regarding relationships formed during problem solving in consultation…

This contribution reports about a seven-month long video-based study in two regular Flemish sixth-grade mathematics classrooms. The focus is on teachers' approaches towards problem solving. In our analysis we distinguished between a paradigmatic-oriented (focus on the mathematical structure) and a narrative-oriented (focus on the contextual…

This study compared the creative outcomes in student work resulting from two pedagogical approaches to creative problem solving activities. A secondary goal was to validate the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) as a means of assessing creativity. Linear models for problem solving and design processes serve as the current paradigm in classroom…

This study compared learning for fifth grade students in two math homework conditions. The paper-and-pencil condition represented traditional homework, with review of problems in class the following day. The Web-based homework condition provided immediate feedback in the form of hints on demand and step-by-step scaffolding. We analyzed the results…

This study assessed the effects of small-group tutoring with and without validated classroom instruction on at-risk students' math problem solving. Stratifying within schools, 119 3rd-grade classes were randomly assigned to conventional or validated problem-solving instruction (Hot Math, schema-broadening instruction). Students identified as at…

This study investigated the role of different modes of representation, i.e., verbal description, decorative pictures, informational pictures and number line, in solving additive change problems. Data were collected from 1447 students in Grades 1, 2, and 3. Structural equations modelling affirmed the existence of four first-order…

The IRT (Item Response Theory) has been studied and applied in computer-based test for decades. However, almost of all these existing studies evaluated focus merely on test questions with text-based (or static text/graphic) type of presentation form illustrated exclusively. In this paper, we present our study on test questions using both…