It is agreed that algebra has an important role in physics, particularly through handling symbols. A lot of previous research has focused on how mathematics is used in physics from perspectives where mathematics is taken for granted, and not addressing potential differences of mathematics in the physics classroom and in the mathematics classroom.…

Math performance is negatively related to math anxiety (MA), though MA may impact certain math skills more than others. We investigated whether the relation between MA and math performance is affected by task features, such as number type (e.g., fractions, whole numbers, percentages), number format (symbolic vs. nonsymbolic), and ratio component…

This study aimed to describe students' semantic representation obstacles in solving geometric problems. There are three types of obstacles, that are ontogeny, epistemology, and didactics obstacles. This study was carried out on three subjects with different obstacles and focused on math semantic representations in solving geometry problems. The…

The literature reports that students have difficulties connecting different meanings, multiple representations of the derivative, and performing reversibility processes between representations of f and f'. The research goal is to analyze the mathematical connections that university students establish when solving tasks that involve the graphs of f…

This study identifies language specific errors made with transcoding tasks to inform possible future pedagogic decisions regarding the language used when teaching early number. We compared children aged 5-7 years from Kuwait and England. The spoken Arabic language of Kuwait gave the opportunity to compare not only languages where the tens and…

This paper studies grade 7 (age 13) students' expressed understanding about the equal sign/notion of equivalence in order to investigate what aspects of the concept that could be seen as an established knowledge at lower secondary school/middle school. Using items from different instruments and combining these to a new one that covered a broad…

The teacher's use of representations is a crucial aspect of instructional quality in mathematics education, given their pivotal role in facilitating mathematics learning. However, in our international research community, perspectives on what constitutes high-quality use of representations may vary. This cross-cultural study aims to explore whether…

Generalization is one of the core aspects of algebraic thinking, and research literature points to the importance of objectification when generalizing mathematical discourses. To increase the field's understanding of the objectification process in various algebra discourses, our study analyses Grade 6 teachers' use of words, symbols, routines and…

In this study, we investigated how secondary students interpret algebraic expressions that contain literal symbols to stand for variables. We hypothesized that the natural number bias (i.e., the tendency to over-rely on knowledge and experiences based on natural numbers) would affect students to think that the literal symbols stand for natural…

Reading comprehension and arithmetic skills are essential abilities for children, particularly at the early career. Examine the link between language proficiency and numeral information process amongst primary school children. This study examines numeral comprehension in 600 Chinese primary second graders with different levels of decoding and…

In this article we investigate the transparency of language in learning place value in either a Southern African indigenous language (isiXhosa, Setswana, Oshiwambo or Emakhuwa) or a European-based language (Afrikaans, English, German or Portuguese). Since language is a key mediator in developing place value understanding, it is important to…

An assessment of the possible effect of mathematics symbol instruction on achievement in word problems was the main thrust of the study. Two null hypotheses were tested in the study. The non-equivalent group pre-testpost-test quasi-experimentalresearch design was adopted. The multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 387…

An understanding of the equal sign is a fundamental concept for early algebra. While literature claimed that Chinese students commonly master the relational understanding of the equal sign in the elementary school, these claims are under-researched. This study used the Mathematics Equivalence Assessment with 237 Chinese Grade 5 students. The…

Fostering students' bidirectional conception of the equal sign (viewing the equal sign as indicating an equivalence of two sides rather than a 'show result' symbol) is challenging, and students' misconception of the equal sign is persistent. Some studies mention that in China, the pedagogical approach to introducing the equal sign supports…

This study investigates how the approximate number system (ANS) and young children's symbolic skills jointly develop and interact. Specifically, the study aims at disentangling the directionality of the association between ANS acuity and a wide range of symbolic skills that reflect 4- to 5-year-olds' symbolic quantitative knowledge (enumeration…