Some pedagogical problems in Chinese numeration are described. They involve the teaching and learning of how to speak numerals with fluency in Chinese, using Hindu-Arabic written numbers. An alternative approach which stresses regularity is proposed. (MNS)

Teaching sequences designed to develop strategies for comparing numerals in grade two (in France) were analyzed. Children's strategies were noted, and an experiment confirmed underlying misconceptions concerning number. (MNS)

Discusses the role of play in the learning of mathematics. Describes a play for the third grade mathematics classroom that focuses on negative numbers and number concepts, and revisits Vygotsky from this point of view. Concludes that mathematically imaginative play can contribute greatly to mathematics learning in elementary school. (Contains 20…

Reflects on four years of teaching a course called Principle of Major Teachers for pre-service elementary school teachers. Identifies and describes the discord between their formal mathematical knowledge and their informal language used in the context of elementary number theory. Presents encouraging results from a code-switching experiment.…

Pre-experimental interviews conducted with three children to investigate three aspects of the nature of counting are detailed. Sixteen findings related to the counting of perceptual items are summarized. (MP)

Proposes a framework that identifies the components of number sense and the attributes of students who possess it. Discusses various aspects of three areas where number sense plays a key role: number concepts, operations with numbers, and applications of number and operation. (MDH)

Presents the reactions of a mathematics educator and a mathematician to a seven-year-old student's response for finding square numbers. Reflects on the mathematician's focus on the mathematics of the problem and the mathematics educator's focus on the student's systematic way of working, and discusses the common focus of student creativity. (MDH)