Background: Creativity requires both divergent and convergent thinking. Previous research established that "divergent" thinking relates to mathematics performance, but generally ignored the role of "convergent" thinking and, hence, leaves it unclear how both might interact when children work on mathematical tasks. This study…

This study explored the relationships between task beliefs about the empty number line (ENL), mathematical ability, gender, and voluntary ENL use in multi-digit subtraction and addition. One hundred twenty-three Dutch third-grade students and nine teachers from six schools participated in this study. The multilevel path analysis showed that task…

Central elements of adaptive expertise in arithmetic problem solving are flexibility, using multiple strategies, and adaptivity, selecting the optimal strategy. Research shows that the strategies children actually use do not fully reflect the strategies they know: there is hidden potential. In the current study a sample of 147 third graders from…

Scientific reasoning is an important skill that encompasses hypothesizing, experimenting, inferencing, evaluating data and drawing conclusions. Previous research found consistent inter- and intra-individual differences in children's ability to perform these component skills, which are still largely unaccounted for. This study examined these…

This article offers a reflection on the findings of three PhD studies, in the domains of, respectively, subtraction under 100, fractions, and algebra, which independently of each other showed that Dutch students' proficiency fell short of what might be expected of reform in mathematics education aiming at conceptual understanding. In all three…

This study examined whether the effects on cognitive and language outcomes of a recently developed home-based educational intervention program, Opstap Opnieuw, for 4-6-years-old disadvantaged children could be explained by improved mother-child interaction. The present sample (n = 30) was drawn from a larger sample of Turkish-Dutch families (n =…