Discussed are the difficulties that entering college freshmen seem to have with mathematics, particularly with fractional forms. A success-oriented program is suggested in which all students are successful. To obtain this goal, a number of alternative routes are discussed such as presenting decimals before fractional forms and the use of the…

The role of common fractions in mathematics education and in applications is discussed in light of the increased importance of calculators and the metric system. (MP)

A straight forward process for working in fractions on any calculator is presented. The method involves converting a decimal back into a fraction in its lowest terms. (MN)

Procedures using calculators are described for determining the recurring sequence of digits in the decimal representation of numbers of the form 1/n. (MN)

This discussion of cyclic patterns that appear in repeating decimals includes the use of the calculator in discovering the patterns. (MP)

The first of four quins intended to develop computational skills with non-negative rational numbers through applications to business and industry, this guidebook on minimum course content is designed for the student who has acquired basic computational skills with non-negative rational numbers. Overall course goals are specified, a course outline…

The third of four quins intended to develop computational skills with non-negative rational numbers through applications to business and industry, this guidebook on minimum course content is designed for the student who has acquired basic computational skills with non-negative rational numbers. Topics include measurement and geometrical…

The second of four quins intended to develop computational skills with non-negative rational numbers through applications to business and industry, this guidebook on minimum course content is designed for the student who has acquired basic computational skills with non-negative rational numbers. Overall course goals are specified, a course outline…

The relative effectiveness of three methods of teaching fraction computation in the context of the community college was investigated. The use of calculators was a special focus of the study. The three methods were: (1) conventional algorithms with no calculator, (2) conventional algorithms with calculator, and (3) alternative algorithms using…

This booklet was written to provide elementary-school teachers with an overview of some of the research results related to the development of computational skills, together with ideas for classroom activities which have grown out of research projects. The booklet is organized into twelve sections, the first of which is devoted to delineating the…

The fourth of four quins intended to develop computational skills with non-negative rational numbers through applications to business and industry, this guidebook on minimum course content is designed for the student who has acquired basic computational skills with non-negative rational numbers. Topics include ratio, proportion, and percentage…

The topics discussed are, "Helping Students Understand the Distributive Property,""Converting from Base 10: Nonintegral Bases?,""Rapid Mental Squaring of Mixed Numbers," and "Some Nonstandard Binary Operations and their Properties." (JT)

The major portion of the article establishes the basis for the stated rule - to divide by a fraction, turn it upside down and multiply. With this background, three justifications for the rule are given. Several possible errors in students' use of the rule are noted. (LS)

This article shows how an inexpensive calculator can be used advantageously to determine repeating decimals. Even the decimal representations of numbers, such as one-seventeenth and one-nineteenth, can be easily computed. Many examples are given, and some theoretical discussion is included. (Author/MP)