The ability to apply mathematical knowledge to solve real-life problems is often considered one of the fundamental educational goals. However, more attention in mathematics education has been given to the development of abstract mathematical computations in symbolic form. The current investigation aims to disclose whether there are different…

How can barriers in reading be reduced? Adding symbols to assignments could be one possibility for enhancing readability and, therefore, providing students with poor reading skills with access to learning material. This qualitative interview and eye-tracking study aims to acquire a first insight into how students rate and perceive the addition of…

Some students can perform operations on fractions when using physical materials, but are unable to transfer this ability to operations with symbolic expressions. They seem to view the manipulative and paper-and-pencil problems as different and are not surprised to get different answers. (SD)