Learning to calculate the area of composite shapes is an important application of area measurement but evidence suggests that many middle school students struggle to calculate the area of even simple composite shapes. In this article, I report the findings of a classroom design study conducted to investigate the collective development of…

Digital technologies for mathematics education are continuously developing. Still, much remains unknown about how students use these tools and how this affects learning. For example, tablets nowadays come with multi-touch options that allow for a more embodied approach to geometry education, compared to mouse interactions. However, little is known…

Studies fourth grade students identified by their teachers as having 'above average ability' in mathematics who were participating in 'pull out' enrichment sessions. Indicates that these students did not show initial difficulties with turn commands previously reported in mixed populations, and they created strategies to determine the correct…

Discusses solving rotation problems and shows that there is an alternative to using mental rotations or their encoding into verbal terms, namely using geometrical properties. Presents an analysis of the functionality and effectiveness of the different kinds of strategies as a function of the task's characteristics. Describes research to improve…

Investigates the benefits and limitations of using pre-constructed, web-based, dynamic geometry sketches in activities related to deductive proof at the secondary school level. Focuses on the relationship between the design of materials and the exploration process. Draws attention to the idea that pre-constructed dynamic geometric sketches and…

Beginning geometry students misunderstand the requirements of formal proof because of confusion between deductive reasoning and argumentation. Presented is a cognitive analysis of deductive organization versus argumentative organization of reasoning and the applications of this analysis to learning. Implications of a study analyzing students'…

Identified are three obstacles which students must overcome when examining and interpreting diagrams. The resources of the Geometric Supposer, a set of microcomputer tools designed to aid students, are outlined. The advantages of the use of this software are emphasized. (CW)

Described is a year-long study of the way a group of six 12-year-old children went about solving a special class of geometric problems using a computer and a limited set of LOGO programing tools. Examines solution strategies deciding whether those strategies led to insights about mathematical relations. (Author/MVL)

Identified and classified solution strategies of (n=49) 10th-grade students who were presented with linear programming problems in a predominantly visual setting in the form of a computerized game. Visual strategies were developed more frequently than either algebraic or mixed strategies. Appendix includes questionnaires. (Contains 11 references.)…