The goal of books in this series is to present work that is on the growing tip of research in cognitive development. The theme of this volume is children's logical and mathematical cognition, a field in which Piaget's influence has been extensive. In the first of the six chapters, Acredolo presents a new theory of the cognitive bases for…

Identified are variables affecting performance of algebraic word problems for eighth graders. An appropriate readability level would seem necessary but not sufficient for student success. The structural variables used appeared to be good predictors of both the correct strategies and solving time. (Author/YP)

Language syntax is discussed, followed by an overview of algbraic syntax. Evaluating algebraic expressions was chosen as the means to investigate the psychological basis of syntactic skills. Subjects' ability to perform evaluative tasks appropriately using standard algebraic notation was ascertained; then similar tasks were presented using a…

A large proportion of college students majoring in science are unable to translate even simple sentences into algebraic equations. Given the following sentence, "There are six times as many students (S) as professors (P) at this university," 37% of 150 freshmen engineering students in a study conducted in 1981 by Clement, Lockhead, and Monk wrote…

Investigated were Australian and Papua New Guinean elementary school children's strategies and errors on arithmetic word problems. Reports that (1) the two samples showed similar strategies and similar errors and (2) the main variable determining difficulty was the semantic structure of the questions. (YP)

This paper argues that two serious flaws are present in current mathematics learning and instruction: (1) the lack of meaning in students' mathematical knowledge; and (2) students' inability to communicate using appropriate mathematical language and ideas. The study explored the relationship between mathematics language facility and mathematics…

Explored were the relationships among students' mathematics language facility, procedural mathematics knowledge, and understanding and application of mathematics concepts. Findings indicate that students needed both procedural knowledge and language facility in mathematics for an acceptable level of conceptual achievement. (CW)

These conference proceedings include two invited lectures, four working group reports, seven reports from topic groups, one ad hoc presentation paper, a list of participants and a list of previous proceedings. The invited lectures were: "Mathematics Education and Technology" (Christine Keital); and "All One System" (Lynn A.…