The purpose of this study was to analyze the problem-solving techniques that students in a fifth-grade classroom applied while solving mathematical word problems. Fifth-grade students in a private school with Ministry of Education curricula in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, were given a set of 15-word problems to solve with detailed justifications. The…

Manipulatives have been found to be effective in increasing mathematics achievement when they are put to good use (Canny, 1984; Clements & Battista, 1990; Clements, 1999; Sowell, 1989; Suydam, 1984), but their use in mathematics instruction is not clear and it is often debated to be effective (Ball, 1992; McNeil & Jarvin, 2007). The…

Typical difficulties in learning probabilistic subjects are concerned with big data, complicated formulas and inconvenient figures in statistical analyses. The present research considers the usage of innovative teaching methods (e.g. electronic summary of lectures, presentations of lecture courses, task solution templates, electronic training…

Individuals can partly recreate the "wisdom of crowds" within their own minds by combining nonredundant estimates they themselves have generated. Herzog and Hertwig (2009) showed that this accuracy gain could be boosted by urging people to actively think differently when generating a 2nd estimate ("dialectical bootstrapping").…

We investigate factors influencing student sign-ups for Washington State's College Bound Scholarship (CBS) program. We find a substantial share of eligible middle school students fail to sign the CBS, forgoing college financial aid. Student characteristics associated with signing the scholarship parallel characteristics of low-income students who…

Although Bayesian methodology has become a powerful approach for describing uncertainty, it has largely been avoided in undergraduate statistics education. Here we demonstrate that one can present Bayes' Rule in the classroom through a hypothetical, yet realistic, legal scenario designed to spur the interests of students in introductory- and…

This document offers instructional materials for a 60-hour course on math operations involving decimals, fractions, proportions, statistics, probability, measurement, geometry, and linear algebra as applied in the workplace. The course was part of a workplace literacy project developed by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and its…

The "Test Development Notebook" is a resource designed for the preparation of tests of literal comprehension for students in grades 1 through 12. This volume contains 200 multiple-choice cloze exercises taken from textbooks in mathematics, and the accompanying answer key. Each exercise carries the code letter of the section to which it belongs.…

A collection of 96 mathematics items are presented for state and local education agencies to draw upon in designing their own minimal competency tests. These items, part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, have been reviewed in terms of their appropriateness for a minimal competency test for high school graduation. The items are…