Mathematical word problem solving is influenced by various characteristics of the task and the person solving it. Yet, previous research has rarely related these characteristics to holistically answer which word problem requires which set of individual cognitive skills. In the present study, we conducted a secondary data analysis on a dataset of N…

Students' issues dealing with reflection tasks, especially with inclined mirror lines, are widely known. Previous research conducted with primary school students mainly focussed on task difficulty and students' outcomes, especially their errors of reflection. Little is known about which not obviously sustainable understanding of reflection leads…

Students' affective characteristics have been confirmed to shape their mathematics learning outcomes, including problem-solving performance and mathematics achievement. However, it remains unclear whether affect influences student mathematical problem posing--a process closely related to mathematical problem solving. Drawn from the…

Educational literature indicates that solving open mathematical tasks (OTs) is a powerful creativity-directed activity. However, the use of these tasks with school students on an everyday basis is extremely limited. To promote implementation of OTs in middle school, we manage a large-scale R&D project, Math-Key, which makes open mathematical…

While the general planning advice offered to mathematics teachers seems to be to start with simple examples and build complexity progressively, the research reported in this article is a contribution to the body of literature that argues the reverse. That is, posing of appropriately complex tasks may actually prompt the use of more sophisticated…

At the start of mathematics education children are often presented with addition and subtraction problems in the form of pictures. They are asked to solve the problems by filling in corresponding number sentences. One type of problem concerns the representation of an increase or a decrease in a depicted amount. A decrease is, however, more…

Little is known about students' emotions in the field of Mathematics Education that go beyond students' emotions in problem solving. To start filling this gap this qualitative research has the aim to identify emotional experiences of undergraduate mathematics students in Linear Algebra courses. In order to obtain data, retrospective focus group…

Development in the ability of 11-year-olds to solve numerical problems of addition, multiplication, and proportion was analysed by means of three Rasch models of change. The students, who had participated in a New Zealand numeracy project in 2002, comprised two groups that differed in socio-economic status: 1,274 students came from low…

An attempt is made to establish a link between ordinary arithmetical situations and relevant mathematical concepts by the analyzing of complexity of concepts. (MP)