In this article, we explore Whitehead's claim that experience is fundamentally affective. We do so in the context of an Italian primary school classroom featuring the use of the multitouch application "TouchCounts." We study the way in which the children and the iPad take each other up and the meanings of number and arithmetic that…

"Where Mathematics Comes From" (Lakoff & Núñez 2000) proposed that mathematical concepts such as arithmetic and counting are constructed cognitively from embodied metaphors of actions on physical objects, and four actions, or 'grounding metaphors' in particular: collecting, stepping, constructing and measuring. This article argues…

In many Canadian schools the acronym BEDMAS is used as a mnemonic to assist students in remembering the order of operations: Brackets, Exponents, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction. In the USA the mnemonic is PEMDAS, where 'P' denotes parentheses, along with the phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally". In the UK the…

How do students cope with and make sense of polysemy in mathematics? Zazkis (1998) tackled these questions in the case of 'divisor' and 'quotient'. When requested to determine the quotient in the division of 12 by 5, some of her pre-service teachers operated in the domain of integers and argued for 2, while others adhered to rational numbers and…

In Norway, children are encouraged to pose a problem that they can solve using an arithmetical calculation. This is known as 'regnefortelling'. During a larger project, we became interested in a small group of "regnefortelling" which used unusual contexts, contexts that made us uneasy and invoked a feeling of uncertainty about how we…

This is the second of a two-part article that presents a theory of unit construction and coordination that underlies radical constructivist empirical studies of student learning ranging from young students' counting strategies to high school students' algebraic reasoning. In Part I, I discussed the formation of arithmetical units and composite…

Drawing on the work of Gattegno, it is suggested that a powerful way of teaching mathematics is to introduce symbols as relationships between visible or tangible resources. The symbols are abstract (formal) from the beginning and yet there are concrete resources to support their use. Drawing on data from a research project in primary schools in…

This is the first of a two-part article that presents a theory of unit construction and coordination that underlies radical constructivist empirical studies of student learning ranging from young students' counting strategies to high school students' algebraic reasoning. My explanation starts with the formation of arithmetical units, which presage…

I argue for the inclusion of topics in high school mathematics curricula that are traditionally reserved for high achieving students preparing for mathematical contests. These include the arithmetic mean--geometric mean inequality which has many practical applications in mathematical modelling. The problem of extremalising functions of more than…

Presents and criticizes current theories of multiplication in order to pave the way for an alternative foundation for the concept of multiplication. Formulates a uniform concept of multiplication that recognizes anew the importance of the roles of multiplier and multiplicand. (Contains 22 references.) (ASK)

Presents a number of transcript examples of correct and incorrect transferences by children. Considers the objects of transference including spoken words, written symbols, models and diagrams, arithmetic procedures, and structures. Discusses the use of transference in arithmetic education. (YP)

Limitations in children's understanding of the symbols of arithmetic may inhibit choice of appropriate solution procedures. The teacher's role involves negotiation of new meanings for words and symbols to match extensions to solution procedures. (MKR)

Four important schools of thought which have addressed the problem of meaning in arithmetic are examined: connectionist, structural, operational, and constructivist. The author argues that the constructivist perspective is a potentially fruitful framework within which to recase the issues involved in the analysis of meaning in arithmetic. (MNS)

Failure of most children to solve word problems beyond the simplest is seen to stem from two causes: failure to understand applied arithmetic and failure to relate problems to the real world. Relevant research is reviewed, and a route for new research is proposed. (MP)

Discusses important mathematical ideas taken from combinatorics, arithmetic, and geometry which are considered in the context of their development in various societies around the globe, including Hebrew, Islamic, Italian, Mayan, German, and Anasazi work. (11 references) (MKR)