Considerable evidence indicates that student motivation and use of learning strategies are related. There is insufficient understanding, however, about their reciprocal effects--whether motivation affects strategy use, the converse, or whether the effects are bidirectional--and which components of motivation and strategies are involved. A two-wave…

This study investigated how metacognition appears as a socially shared phenomenon within collaborative mathematical word-problem solving processes of dyads of high-achieving pupils. Four dyads solved problems of different difficulty levels. The pupils were 10 years old. The problem-solving activities were videotaped and transcribed in terms of…

We confronted 151, 5th and 6th elementary grade pupils with a quantitative problem in a mathematics or religion class, to examine the influence of the context on pupils' understanding and solution of such problems inside and outside the mathematics class. Pupils were first asked to solve a problem about fair sharing either during a mathematics or…

Focused on two fifth graders in the Netherlands and studied two approaches to working with models in primary mathematics education: providing models versus designing models in coconstruction. Findings suggest that understanding may be improved by models students made themselves, and that students of this age are able to design models working…

Studied the teaching and learning of fractions in two matched groups of 10 9-10-year-olds in the Netherlands. In the experimental group, fractions were introduced using the bar and number line as mental models, while the control group used fair sharing and the circle model. The experimental group showed more proficiency in fractions after 1 year.…

This issue contains articles on mathematical modeling of school arithmetic word problems; cognitive load theory; cognitive effects of practical experience for high and low achievers; perspectives of college-bound students on learning mathematics; and training-based assessment of school achievement. (SLD)

A method was developed using a deck of cards to teach Japanese fifth graders to calculate the area of a parallelogram. Investigations with 59 male and 45 female students demonstrate the superiority of the method to that previously used in terms of recall at one week. (SLD)