There is growing evidence that the ability to perceive structure is essential for students' mathematical development. Looking at students' structure sense in basic numerical and patterning tasks seems promising for understanding how these tasks set the foundation for the development of later mathematical skills. Previous studies have shown how…

The authors wondered if there was a way to support their reluctant Grades 4, 5, and 6 students in contributing their starting points and strategies and advancing their collective knowledge. They wanted to ensure that the students had the space to develop and take ownership of the strategies they produced through a visual representation of ideas…

Recent research has highlighted the role of functional relationships in introducing elementary school students to algebraic thinking. This functional approach is here considered to study essential components of algebraic thinking such as generalization and its representation, as well as the strategies used by students and their connection with…

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have examined the association between mathematical abilities and executive functions (EFs). However, it remains unknown via which mechanisms' mathematical performance is associated with EFs. The current study examined the associations of overall task proficiency, strategy selection, and strategy…

In this article, the authors provide some insight into how teachers can potentially facilitate among students' representations and activities on mathematical tasks: between or among -- (1) student representations and the context; (2) multiple forms of student representations; and (3) processes in student representations. The authors use the…

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how students' mathematics identities were developed and how their agency was fostered through the use of a mathematical action technology (MAT), Desmo, during stages of learning beyond noticing and wondering. The authors describe how they enacted an eighth-grade mathematics lesson depicting students…

This study focuses on computer-based formative assessment for supporting problem solving and reasoning in mathematics. To be able to assist students who find themselves in difficulties, the software suggested descriptions - diagnoses - of the encountered difficulty the students could choose from. Thereafter, the software provided metacognitive and…

This study investigates sixth-grade students' explorations of tessellations with Scratch through the mathematical aesthetics. For this purpose, the study analyzed the students' explorations by considering the roles of mathematical aesthetics identified by Sinclair (2004): generative, evaluative, and motivational role. Six middle-school students…

The purpose of this study was firstly to investigate the mathematical metacognitive characteristics of high-efficiency students by comparing high-efficiency and low-efficiency students. Secondly, the aim was to explore the pathways of mathematical metacognition of efficient mathematics learners in mathematics achievement. In this study,…

Students often look to the standard algorithm, which requires rewriting the task, regrouping tens to create enough ones to subtract, and other opportunities to make errors. However, when the authors apply structural thinking, the resultant strategy is an efficient and elegant shortcut and even brings a positive connotation to the word…

Learning mathematics is difficult for many students, especially students with mathematics learning disabilities MLD. To improve the academic achievement for students with MLD, educational legislations (IDEA 2004; ESSA 2015) mandate that schools must use evidence-base core curricula. Textbooks conveys the intended values and principles for…

Retrieval practice is a learning strategy that has repeatedly been found to have positive effects on memory and learning. However, studies indicate that students rarely use retrieval practice on a voluntary basis. The objective of the present study was to examine students' self-regulated use of retrieval practice, and to determine whether sex and…

Central elements of adaptive expertise in arithmetic problem solving are flexibility, using multiple strategies, and adaptivity, selecting the optimal strategy. Research shows that the strategies children actually use do not fully reflect the strategies they know: there is hidden potential. In the current study a sample of 147 third graders from…

Background: Base-ten thinking (BTT) -- children's ability to reason in tens and ones is a crucial measure of Foundation Phase learners' mathematical performance in South Africa. Aim: The study looks at the six learners using BTT to solve additive tasks through two different assessments. Setting: Six purposely selected Grade 3 learners in…

The current study used microanalytic interviews and behavioral traces to examine sequential phase relations among forethought, performance, and self-reflection processes, and to investigate the predictive influence of these processes on mathematics performance of 96 eighth grade students. Consistent with expectations, students' microanlaytic goals…