Of the "big four", division is likely to regarded by many learners as "the odd one out", "the difficult one", "the one that is complicated", or "the scary one". It seems to have been that way "for ever", in the perception of many who have trodden the learning pathways through the world of…

This is the second of three articles that draw on findings from Nunes, Watson and Bryant (2009): "Key understandings in school mathematics: a report to the Nuffield Foundation". The report was soundly based on research about how children learn mathematics, much of it done in the UK in the '80s. Most of the findings about algebra are very…

In this article, the authors share a European perspective on teaching linear equations in Finland, Flanders, and Hungary. They begin with an assertion that it is through observation, in its broadest sense, and opportunities for participation, that people assimilate themselves into the culture in which they are raised. They discuss three approaches…

Some suggestions for the use of commutative arrow diagrams in secondary school mathematics. (MM)

Notes on jeep trips and card stacks; some work with Multibase Arithmetic Blocks, the complex roots of unity, and a divisibility test. (MM)

A series of puzzle-type activities combining arithmetic reasoning and geometric figures is described and illustrated. (SD)