Students in secondary school often struggle with symbol sense, that is, the general ability to deal with symbols and to recognize the structure of algebraic formulas. Fostering symbol sense is an educational challenge. In graphing formulas by hand, defined as graphing using recognition and reasoning without technology, many aspects of symbol sense…

A selection of secondary school mathematics textbooks from twelve countries on five continents was analysed to better understand the support they might be in teaching and learning mathematical problem solving. Over 5700 tasks were compared to the information provided earlier in each textbook to determine whether each task could be solved by…

Productive struggle is an essential part of mathematics instruction that promotes learning with deep understanding. A video scenario is used to provide a glimpse of productive struggle in action and to showcase its characteristics for both students and teachers. Suggestions for supporting productive struggle are provided.

The literature emphasizes the interest and need to learn the concept of continuity with understanding, although this meaning it is not consensual nor specified how it may emerge and be developed in the learning process. In this paper we report the results of a study aiming to analyse Brazilian preservice mathematics teachers' understanding of the…

"When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras." This common saying in medicine (often attributed to Theodore Woodward, MD, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine) advises doctors to stick to the expected or likely diagnosis, rather than anticipating an unusual or atypical one. As a result, uncommon medical diagnoses are…

What constitutes learning in the 21st century is the capacity for e-learning. Integral components of e-education are training content management systems. Existing content generators more transform content than create original content. Creating a methodology and technology for generating original content is important and relevant. In order to form…

In this paper it is demonstrated how the free, and easily downloadable, software package called SMath Studio can be used to set up a model of alpha-particle scattering. The basic physics of the motion of an alpha-particle in the nuclear coulomb field is used to produce a simple stepwise computer algorithm which, in conjunction with a novel set of…

The purpose of the present study was to propose a model for mathematics achievement considering the mediating role of eye tracking measurements in the relationship between problem solving performance and mathematics achievement. In this sequential explanatory mixed method research design, a geometry test was conducted to 381 7th grade students.…

This paper examines three elementary school mathematics textbooks (one textbook from each of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade) to determine to what extent these textbooks present questions with multiple outcomes and multiple solution methods. Document analysis as a qualitative research method is adopted. The findings reveal that only 8% of all three…

Students' solutions of enumerative combinatorial problems may be assessed along two main dimensions: the correctness of the solution and the method of enumeration. This study looks at the second dimension with reference to the Cartesian product of two sets, and at the 'odometer' combinatorial strategy defined by English (1991). Since we are not…

Language plays an important role in word problem solving. Accordingly, the language in which a word problem is presented could affect its solution process. In particular, East-Asian, non-alphabetic languages are assumed to provide specific benefits for mathematics compared to Indo-European, alphabetic languages. By analyzing students' eye…

Encouraging students to persevere in problem solving can be accomplished using extended tasks where students solve a problem over an extended time. This article presents a structure for use of extended tasks and examples of student thinking that can emerge through such tasks. Considerations for implementation are provided.

Problems are part of our lives. It causes stress, tension, emotional instability, and physical strain to us. It is very essential to deal with our problems before they deal with our happiness. Problem solving skill is an irreplaceable life skill and it is cognitive or thinking activity essential to our day-to-day lives. In order to lead a…

The purpose of this study was to explore the paths by which word-problem intervention, with versus without embedded pre-algebraic reasoning instruction, improves word-problem performance. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 304) were randomly assigned to a business-as-usual condition or one of two variants of word-problem intervention.…

Although some students might struggle with problem posing, the positive effects on student learning and abilities may be far reaching for those who engage in this activity. Problem posing requires students to create their own problems rather than to solve problems posed by others. Problem posing is not regularly taught; however, reform proponent…