Seventy-one college students were taught probability and statistics for one month by one of three methods: MP, manipulative-pictorial; P, pictorial; and S, symbolic. Analysis of variance yielded significant differences (p.05) between treatment groups for selected subtests of an achievement test and generally favored MP and P over S.

In the pair of experiments reported here the authors investigated the relationship between meaningfulness of problem statements and subjects' use of these statements in problem-solving tasks. Subjects (96 university students) were required to memorize meaningful formulae such as "volume = area x height" or corresponding symbolic formulae such as…

This study was designed to determine whether (1) rules are more easily memorized when stated in mathematical symbolism or when stated verbally, and whether (2) the ability to use constituent symbols correctly, assuming mastery of the underlying grammar, is a necessary and/or sufficient condition for applying a learned rule statement. Twenty-four…

A concrete and a symbolic approach to learning multiplication in the second grade are studied. The results, indicating that children using the symbolic model performed at a higher level than those using a concrete model, are discussed. (DT)

This paper reports a study which attempted to generalize earlier results obtained by Eastman to another mathematical content area. Two hundred eight ninth-grade algebra students were randomly assigned to one of the two treatments. The figural-inductive treatment presented concepts of logic through the use of Euler diagrams in an inductive mode;…

Two scales designed to measure cognitive preferences were constructed; this study was designed to validate these scales, and to investigate the relationship between instruction and cognitive preference. Items for both scales had elementary mathematics content. One scale was intended to measure deductive-inductive preference, the other…