Attempts to reveal students' (N=800) misconceptions regarding quadratic functions, and identifies conceptual obstacles that may impede students' understanding. Findings indicate that the conceptual obstacles identified were fairly pervasive. Discusses the educational implications of the findings. Contains 34 references. (JRH)

Presents a device for sketching the graph of the composite and inverse of single variable real-valued functions. Discusses some didactic methods of paths. (YP)

Investigates children's cognitive structures with respect to concepts one-half, one-quarter, and one-third as these apply to continuous circular and triangular regions. Examines the effect of an intervention program with 21 children in grades three through six. (YP)

Investigates the extent to which visual considerations in calculus can be taught and be a natural part of college students' mathematical thinking. Recommends that the legitimacy of the visual approach in proofs and problem solving should be emphasized and that the visual interpretations of algebraic notions should be taught. (YP)

Presents a first-semester course in mathematics for 6-year-old children by formulating certain general requirements for the curriculum and the instructional methods with the aim of leading children to form their initial mathematical concepts. (ASK)

Describes a study that explores secondary school students' conceptions of division by zero. Examines whether students identify expressions involving division by zero as undefined or tend to assign them numerical values. Studies students' justifications and analyzes the effects of age and level of achievement in mathematics on students' responses…

The 5-stage model of Ross was used to examine the role of instruction in facilitating children's acquisition of place value knowledge. Compares children from 2 samples on 10 tasks designed to reveal their thinking about place value. Discusses implications for theory and classroom. (YP)

Investigated are three misconceptions of probability and the differential effect of two activity-based instructional units. Response categories (law of averages, law of small numbers, and availability) are identified. Treatment differences (evaluation or no evaluation) appear to influence subjects' interpretations of the information. (YP)

Introduces an introductory module for analysis. Describes stock of basic functions and their graphs as part one and three methods as part two: transformations of simple graphs, the sum of stock functions, and upper and lower bounds. (YP)

The focus of this article is on the verification processes children use when assessing the equality of parts produced by them when partitioning geometric shapes. Different processes and children's verbal proofs of equality are presented. Activities for mathematics instruction are suggested. (YP)

Describes environments for concretely enacting multiplication and division. Discusses difficulties occurring when students use one of the concrete environments to model situations involving modified environments. (YP)

Discusses a technique for graphically composing functions. Describes three-step composition procedures in two- and three-dimensional rectangular coordinate systems. Provides three examples. (YP)

Describes learning difficulties students may have with the basic notions of linear algebra and three phases of abstraction. Discusses results of a program based on the abstraction process. (YP)

Identifies four causes of confusion in reading mathematics related to numbers, symbols and sentences, vocabulary, and directionality. Discusses techniques for overcoming each type of the confusion. (YP)

A collection of student distortions, represented by student-invented variations of theorems, are presented. They were drawn from examination papers of 17-year-old students in Israel. (MNS)