Examines 250 sixth-grade students' understanding of arithmetic average by assessing their understanding of the computational algorithm. Results indicate that the majority of the students knew the "add-them-all-up-and-divide" averaging algorithm, but only half of the students were able to correctly apply the algorithm to solve a…

Describes an attempt to encourage fifth- and sixth-graders to invent their own ways of solving problems involving division with fractions. Emphasizes the importance of social interaction in Piaget's constructivism and explains why debate and verification are important for children's construction of logico-mathematical knowledge. (22 references)…

Two questions were investigated in this study: (1) How did the computational proficiency of sixth graders who had one year's experience with Developing Mathematical Processes (DMP) materials compare with an equivalent group of students who used the usual textbook program; and (2) What occurs when sixth graders study algorithms as sequences of rule…

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between the level of conservation of displaced volume and the degree to which sixth-grade children learn the volume algorithm of a cuboid, namely, volume equals weight times length times height. The problem chosen is based on an apparent discrepancy between the present school programs and…