A key motivational tactic in undergraduate mathematics teaching is to launch topics with fundamental questions that originate from surprising or remarkable phenomena. Nonetheless, constructing a sequence of tasks that promotes students' own routes to resolving such questions is challenging. This note aims to address this challenge in two ways.…

This work presents the result of the application of a didactic sequence designed to understand the concept of the Cavalieri's Principle, supported by the GeoGebra application in its version for mobile phones -- 3D Calculator. For this study, the Theory of Categories of Intuitive Reasoning, by Efraim Fischbein, was used as a conceptual basis. The…

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss two recommended sequences of learning the areas of polygons, starting from the area of a rectangle. Exploring the algebraic derivations of the two sequences reveals that both are valid teaching progressions for introducing the area formula for various polygons. Further, it is suggested that…

Preschoolers' patterning skills are predictive of their concurrent and later math knowledge; however, it is unclear if patterning is only a proxy for general intelligence, or how it might support specific math skills. The current study examined the relation between 66 preschool children's patterning skills and their general cognitive abilities,…

Preschoolers' patterning skills are predictive of their concurrent and later math knowledge; however, it is unclear if patterning is only a proxy for general intelligence, or how it might support specific math skills. The current study examined the relation between 66 preschool children's patterning skills and their general cognitive abilities,…

Although basing instruction on learning trajectories (LTs) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence regarding the premise of a LT approach--that instruction should be presented (only) one LT level beyond a child's present level. We evaluated this hypothesis in the domain of early shape composition. One group of preschoolers, who were…

Although basing instruction on learning trajectories (LTs) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence regarding the premise of an LT approach--that instruction should be presented (only) one LT level beyond a child's present level. We evaluated this hypothesis in the domain of early shape composition. One group of preschoolers, who were…

The following outlines the rationale and structure of a professional learning initiative that seeks to explore teachers' ways of engaging students more actively in building mathematical connections for themselves. An example of one of the suggested experiences is presented.

This study presents partial results from the project "A Study of perceptual apprehensive, operative apprehensive, sequential apprehensive, and discursive apprehensive for elementary school students (POSD)", which was undertaken to explore gender differences and passing rate of van Hiele's geometric thinking level. The participants were…

As an alternative to looking solely at linear functions, a three-lesson learning progression developed for Year 6 students that incorporates triangular numbers to develop children's algebraic thinking is described and evaluated.

Dynamic geometry software (DGS) is often used for development of interactive teaching materials in many subjects, not only mathematics. These interactive materials can contain hundreds of elements in order to represent complex objects, and script programs to control their behavior. We propose an approach for creating, importing and using…

Mandarin Chinese and many other tonal languages use tones that are defined as specific pitch patterns to distinguish syllables otherwise ambiguous. It had been shown that tones carry at least as much information as vowels in Mandarin Chinese [Surendran et al., 2005]. Surprisingly, though, many speech recognition systems for Mandarin Chinese have…

Provided is an analysis of Turtle Geometry using van Hiele levels of development and understanding. The author also relates a language use framework, suggested by the work of Fry (1982), to the language activities of Turtle Geometry. Research supporting the analysis is discussed. (RH)

Engineering students use spatial thinking when examining diagrams or models to study structure design. It is expected that most engineering students have solidified spatial thinking skills during K-12 schooling. However, according to what we know about geometry learning and teaching, spatial thinking probably needs to be explicitly taught within…