The aim of this study is to examine how algorithmatizing tasks engage mathematics students in algorithmic thinking. Structured, task-based interviews were conducted with eight Year 12 students as they completed a sequence of algorithmatizing tasks involving maximum flow problems. A deductive-inductive analytical process was used to first classify…

Previous studies have found positive effects of Game-Based Learning for mathematics. While most studies assume that this effect is explained by the presence of flow/immersion during games, this has not yet been established. The aim of the current study is to verify if immersion indeed is associated with mathematical skills improvement when using a…

Common mistakes pupils make when adding fractions are categorized and analyzed. (MP)

The calculator is used to explore the distributive property of a unary operator over a binary operator. This is an extension of an earlier paper. The emphasis is on student discovery of the property for various combinations of the operators. Instructional material contained in the report include a reference sheet of questions for potential…

Investigating properties and characteristics of unary operations is shown to be facilitated by using calculators. Several avenues for instructional exploration are suggested and examples given. These include questions relating to relations, inverses, commutativity, distributivity, and iterations. A discussion of the calculator algorithm for…

Results of this study, done with underachieving ninth graders, indicate that flow charting as a structure for basic skills instruction can be considered as effective as the traditional approach. (MK)

Describes a prototype package that uses algorithms created within the symbolic algebra system Axiom, numerical routines from the NAG Libraries together with the easy-to-use facilities of modern graphical interfaces. Considers the implementation of different techniques, both symbolic and numeric, for the analysis and calculation of interpolating…

The calculator is used to investigate properties and characteristics of certain unary operations. These include how a number is related to the number resulting from a unary operation and the result of two unary operations. A discussion of the calculator algorithm to accomplish a series of unary operations is given. Record sheets to summarize…

Students recognized as less successful individuals in mathematics are tested for their understanding of fractions. The data reveals that most were only able to apply remembered rules to problems without actually knowing if the rule worked for the given situation. (MP)

This paper reports the results of a ten-week study investigating the use of electronic calculators to perform basic operations with rational numbers in ninth-grade mathematics classes. In all, six classes and 101 students were involved. A short literature review is given and three treatments are described. Dependent variables were five mastery…

Reports on a study into the problem solving abilities of students in a Jamaican high school who were intentionally taught problem solving strategies during one-sixth of their mathematics instruction for one academic year. Results indicated no significant increases in their performance on a problem solving test. (TW)

Common mathematical errors of pupils as identified by the Concepts in Secondary Mathematics and Science Project are identified and traced to the use of methods invented by students rather than formally taught methods. (MP)

Computational strategies and estimating abilities of 466 Japanese students were tested and interviews with a subsample of that group were used to compare with a theoretical model based on a sample from the United States. Results of the comparison of computational and estimating abilities are presented. (CW)

Seventh-grade students were tested to uncover arithmetic errors. Answers and intermediate steps were analyzed and models to represent students' behavior were developed. Certain errors were common across students. Others were tied to the format of the test item. Some superficial understandings of mathematical concepts were exposed. (Author/DC)