The purpose of the present research is defining the direction and level of the relationship between 8th grade students' translating among multiple representations skills and their algebraic reasoning and revealing the predictive power on algebraic reasoning. The research was conducted in accordance with relational survey model, which is a…

Adults with learning disabilities (LD) face educational and employment challenges and may also have other disabilities and health conditions. Little is known about these adults' numeracy skills and how they use numeracy at work or home. The article's objective was to investigate numeracy skills and skill use for U.S. adults with LD. The author…

This work is an exploration of upper elementary students' sense making around four conventional representations of function: equations with algebraic notation, Cartesian graphs, function tables, and natural language. The cornerstone to the empirical work is a task called the Function Puzzle, where students are given 16 cards representing four…

The purpose of this case study was to examine prospective mathematics teachers' lessons in the context of choice and use of representations while teaching limit. The participants were four senior prospective mathematics teachers. The data were obtained from the participants' lessons plans, the video recordings of their lessons, and the…

This research addresses the issue of how to support students' representational fluency--the ability to create, move within, translate across, and derive meaning from external representations of mathematical ideas. The context of solving linear equations in a combined computer algebra system (CAS) and paper-and-pencil classroom environment is…

Stephanie Whitney teaches in the department of teacher education at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Her interest is in how students reason and make sense of mathematics, and how teachers can promote this behavior. Students should engage in reasoning and sense making daily in their mathematics classes. It is often through students'…

In the subject matter of functional relationships, a student's ability to translate from one form of representation to another is seen as a central competence. In the course of the HEUREKO project (heuristic work with representations of functional relationships and the diagnosis of mathematical competencies of students), a theoretical competence…

Amazon, Walmart, and other large-scale retailers owe their success partly to efficient inventory management. For such firms, holding too little inventory risks losing sales, whereas holding idle inventory wastes money. Therefore profits hinge on the inventory level chosen. In this activity, students investigate a simplified inventory-control…

To understand multiple representations in algebra, students must be able to describe relationships through a variety of formats, such as graphs, tables, pictures, and equations. NCTM indicates that varied representations are "essential elements in supporting students' understanding of mathematical concepts and relationships" (NCTM…

How can the key concept of equivalent expressions be addressed so that students strengthen their representational fluency with symbols, graphs, and numbers? How can research inform the synergistic use of both paper-and-pencil analysis and computer algebra systems (CAS) in a classroom learning environment? These and other related questions have…

This article presents a designed learning environment intended to engage students in learning about the relationships among multiple representations as they work together on a shared task. Over the course of several extended problem-solving sessions, groups developed several successive alignments of participants and representations as they learned…

Overall scale scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that there was only minimal improvement in the mathematics performance of high school students between 1978 and 2004. Using recently released data from the Long-Term Trend (LTT) NAEP, this study describes the content covered on the LTT NAEP and the…

Access to quality mathematics content and instruction has been equated as a civil right (Moses & Cobb, 2001). However, access to empowering mathematics is not a reality for many urban youth. Data show an achievement gap between Black, Hispanic and American Indian students and their peers which, in turn, result in unequal access to education and…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

Presents a real-life example of mathematical modeling in which a medical company asks for help in solving a warehouse-inventory problem. Uses charts, graphs, and computers. (MKR)