Forty 4th and 9th grade students participated individually in tutorial interviews centered on a problem-solving activity designed for learning basic algebra mechanics through diagrammatic modeling of an engaging narrative about a buccaneering giant burying and unearthing her treasure on a desert island. Participants were randomly assigned to…

Describes an investigation-based, lecture-free first-year algebra course in which students are responsible for compiling their own textbooks. Discusses the purpose and procedures of the activity. Includes student worksheets. (KHR)

Describes a game used in precalculus that builds interest and confidence in the uses of inverse functions. The game is preceded by a worksheet that enables students to discover that f(x) and f-1(x) are mirror images of the line y=x. (DDR)

A major goal of mathematics teaching is the involvement of students in the personal process of discovering mathematical ideas and formulating problems. The process of an inductive leap followed by a deductive argument is used in mathematics courses at Phillips Exeter Academy (New Hampshire). Mathematical problems are presented in which the givens…

Presents a series of 5 reproducible worksheets for grade levels 5-10 that provide hands-on activities to help develop the concept of slope. (MDH)

Describes one teacher's reflection concerning the quest to develop an understanding of school mathematics that promotes and sustains students' opportunities for exploration and conjecture. Recounts that a particular student's exploration of the features of parabolas eventually led to an understanding of the quadratic formula precisely because of…

The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (IGPME) was founded in 1976 at the Third International Congress for Mathematics Education, to promote international contacts and the exchange of scientific information in the psychology of mathematical education. The goal was to further a deeper and more correct understanding of…

Evidence for suggested basic differences in the abstract reasoning capacity of Negro and Caucasian children includes consistent findings of significantly poorer performance by Negroes on Raven's Progressive Matrices (PM). This study investigated the PM performance of Negro children taught algebra via a discovery method of instruction. It was…