It is commonly accepted that repeatedly using mental procedures results in a transition to memory retrieval, but the determinant of this process is still unclear. In a 3-week experiment, we compared two different learning situations involving basic additions, one based on counting and the other based on arithmetic fact memorization. Two groups of…

Development of the cardinality principle, an understanding that the last number-word recited in counting a collection of items specifies the number of items in that collection, is a critical milestone in developing a concept of number. Researchers in early number development have endeavored to theorize its development. Here we critique two widely…

In the last two decades, studying the possible relations between the history of mathematics and mathematics education has revealed the importance of certain foundational issues concerning the nature, relevance and validity of historical knowledge vis-à-vis problems of teaching and learning, which call for deeper exploration. Reviewing aspects of…

The authors have found that having students learn accessible standard algorithms by explaining them using mathematics drawings increases students' sense of place--value numbers and enables students to articulate their understanding of what is actually happening with the numbers and why. In this article, they will discuss three standard algorithms…

For schools implementing Response-to-Intervention, it is important to understand how to efficiently intensify interventions. Treatment intensity, or intervention design, is a critical yet overlooked and understudied aspect in math. More frequent dosage results in greater student gains. However, questions remain regarding how teaching episodes…

This extensively updated teaching resource provides over 100 engaging, full-color visuals with explanations of how they can be used to stimulate mathematics learning, to explain mathematical concepts, and to assess students' mathematical understanding in grades K-8. Readers are provided with a strong mathematical background, downloadable copies of…

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a "LT approach"--that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child's present level of thinking. The present report serves to address…

Introducing the distributivity property of multiplication over addition is a well-known challenge in mathematics education, especially in primary school. As a contribution, this paper presents the results of a cycle of design research that focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of a modelling activity in which 2nd-grade students are…

We report here on an intervention implementing a structural approach to arithmetic problem-solving in relation to learning outcomes among preschoolers. Using the fundamental principles of the variation theory of learning for developing the intervention and as an analytical framework, we discuss teaching and learning in commensurable terms. The…

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a "LT approach"--that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child's present level of thinking. The present report serves to address…

"Where Mathematics Comes From" (Lakoff & Núñez 2000) proposed that mathematical concepts such as arithmetic and counting are constructed cognitively from embodied metaphors of actions on physical objects, and four actions, or 'grounding metaphors' in particular: collecting, stepping, constructing and measuring. This article argues…

The way mathematics teaching and learning activities are presented to learners can make them hate or like the subject. The question of accomplishing the mathematics education of the learner from primary to post-secondary school levels is one which necessarily tasks, not only the teacher's stock of mathematical knowledge but also his skill, his…

Traditional houses are part of the culture of every country. Indonesia is a country that has a variety of traditional houses. The traditional Banyuwangi house is known as the "Using" house. This house can be explored in terms of ethnomathematics and used as part of learning mathematics. This research is focused on knowing and describing…

The modelling approach to teaching and learning mathematics emphasizes the usefulness of mathematics in the real-world. The aim of the current study is to examine whether engagement in modelling activities provides learners an opportunity to expand their knowledge of a specific concept -- the "average" concept. Our data include…

The present study focused on the lack of knowledge of the double use of brackets in arithmetic expressions and the difficulty in the operatively of expression for mathematics application at the school level. Learning the other rules and formulas of mathematics involves learning the use of a bracket. Binding is useful in both arithmetic and…