Problem Solving in Mathematics (PSM), a program of problem-solving lessons for grades 4-9, is designed to be integrated into the regular mathematics curriculum. Although the content objectives of the lessons are similar to those of most textbooks, PSM emphasizes problem-solving skills and a variety of instructional strategies which foster the…

Suggestions for using four-function calculators, programmable calculators, and microcomputers are considered in this collection of 36 articles. The first section contains articles considering general implications for mathematics curricula implied by the freedom calculators offer students from routine computation, enabling them to focus on results…

It is argued that microcomputer technology has evolved to the stage that it should be routinely used by mathematics students at all levels. It is shown how the use of microcomputers can change the way problems are solved. Computer-generated graphics are highlighted. (PK)

Reports the third grade and seventh grade results of the fourth mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Summarizes the major results of the performance on number, operations, and word problem items. Some examples of data are given. (PK)

Seven research conclusions concerning computers in elementary schools are presented. A summary conclusion suggests that researchers have been unable to detect improvement in mathematical skills, although some evidence suggests that students using computers acquire attributes related to success in mathematics. (PK)

Compares the development of two students' understanding of addition and subtraction. One student's understanding is based on memorized rules and the other's on understanding the concept of place value. Discusses the effects of different goals for instruction and the importance of understanding place value. (MDH)

Presented are six short articles on an application of an ellipse to carpentry, the area of an ellipse by stacking, using the isoperimetric quotient to solve a minimum problem, using an ill-posed trigonometry problem to encourage deeper exploration of concepts, the volume and centroid of the Step Pyramid of Zoser, and a unique telescoping series…

From the equality of the ratios of the surface areas and volumes of a sphere and its circumscribed cylinder, the exploration of theorems relating the ratios of surface areas and volumes of a sphere and other circumscribed solids in three dimensions, and analogous questions relating two-dimensional concepts of perimeter and area is recounted. (MDH)

During individual interviews, secondary school mathematics teachers were asked to plan teaching an unfamiliar and challenging mathematics problem. Each teacher watched a special video-clip showing a pair of pupils successfully coping with the task. Teachers' planning was analyzed at three stages: before they solved the problem, after solving it,…

This paper reports an interview study of 45 English and 10 Hungarian teachers of mathematics. The semi-structured interviews focused on the teachers' professional life-histories and invited them to discuss their beliefs about the necessary subject content for the teaching and learning of mathematics. Substantial differences emerged between the two…

This article addresses how metacognitive skills contribute to the teaching and learning of problem solving in mathematics. It describes the development and use of a metacognitive journal activity in the classroom. (Contains 2 figures.)

In the 1970s, the movement to the metric system (which has still not completely occurred in the United States) and the advent of hand-held calculators led some to speculate that decimal representation of numbers would render fractions obsolete. This provocative proposition stimulated Zalman Usiskin to write "The Future of Fractions" in 1979. He…

This article describes a teacher and class as they discover that their reading comprehension strategies cross over into mathematical problem solving. The students practice using visualization techniques to improve their understanding of word problems. (Contains 5 figures.)

This study examined how selected school mathematics textbooks in China, Singapore, and USA at the lower secondary grade level represent problem-solving procedures. The analysis of problem-solving procedures was carried out in two layers--general strategies, which adopted Polya's four-stage problem-solving model, and specific strategies, which…

One of the main problems in undergraduate research in pure mathematics is that of determining a problem that is, at once, interesting to and capable of solution by a student who has completed only the calculus sequence. It is also desirable that the problem should present something new, since novelty and originality greatly increase the enthusiasm…