The teaching of mathematics is mostly done with tasks that learners and teachers do or solve, in and outside of class. These tasks, which are used to illustrate concepts in mathematics, are referred to in this paper as examples in mathematics. Examples that teachers choose and use are fundamental to what mathematics is taught and learned, and what…

This study attempted to develop a literature-informed discourse-based instructional approach and evaluated its effects on eleventh-grade students' conceptual and procedural understandings in probability and statistics. To this end, a quasi-experimental study that involved two control groups and one experimental group was used. One-way analysis of…

The theme of the 39th proceedings of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA) conference was "Synergy at the Crossroads: Future Directions for Theory, Research, and Practice." The metaphor of crossroads was inspired by the conference venue--the historic Indianapolis Union…

The theme of this year's conference is "Sin Fronteras: Questioning Borders with(in) Mathematics Education." This theme is intended to encourage research presentations, discussion, and reflection on the variety of borders within mathematics education, as well as those that might be probed, challenged, explained, enhanced and/or…

Students explored variation and expectation in a probability activity at the end of the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study across grades 4-6. The activity involved experiments in tossing coins both manually and with simulation using the graphing software, "TinkerPlots." Initial responses indicated that the students were aware of…

Traditionally, Canadian Inuit have lived in the circumpolar regions of Canada and those who still live in these regions, have their own cultures, which they tend to celebrate in their educational curricula. Inuit culture reflects their traditional lifestyle, when they were nomadic, and hunted and fished to survive in incredibly difficult…

This document presents a review of evidence commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation to inform the guidance document "Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three" (Education Endowment Foundation, 2017). The review draws on a substantial parallel study by the same research team, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, which…

In 3 experiments, the authors investigated learning of the value of money from product prices in an unfamiliar currency when the prices are proportional to quantity. In support of the second stage of a hypothesized 2-stage process of learning, Experiment 1, in which 32 undergraduates participated, shows that response times for inferences of…

Describes ways of thinking about probability and some common student misconceptions. Suggests ways of addressing students' misconceptions and illustrates these ideas with an example. (ASK)

Presents two case studies of learners attempting to understand the concept of normal distribution, specifically why physical phenomena such as height fall into normal distributions. Draws conclusions about a Connected Mathematics learning environment that enables confrontation with epistemological anxiety and the features of modeling languages…

Presents young children's concepts related to probability grouped by definite, possible, and definitely not. Discusses the teaching methods of the probability concepts. (YP)

The term "numeracy" is used in the adult education community to include an array of mathematically related proficiencies that are evident in adults' lives and worthy of attention in adult education settings. This occasional paper attempts to describe the complex nature of numeracy as it exists today. All stakeholders--including policymakers,…

Investigations with the computer can have different functions in the mathematical learning process, such as to let students explore a subject domain, to guide the process of reinvention, or to give them the opportunity to apply what they have learned. Which function has most effect on mathematical level raising? We investigated that question in…

Discusses a framework for assessing middle school students' thinking in conditional probability and independence. Establishes four levels of thinking from subjective to numerical reasoning for both constructs. Students (n=15) from grades 4-8 were interviewed. Profiles reveal that levels of probabilistic thinking were stable across the two…

One of the most common misconceptions about probability is the belief that successive outcomes of a random process are not independent. This belief has been dubbed the "gambler's fallacy". The belief that non-normative expectations such as the gambler's fallacy are widely held has inspired probability and statistics instruction that attempts to…