Mathematics teachers frequently provide concrete manipulatives to students during instruction; however, the rationale for using certain manipulatives in conjunction with concepts may not be explored. This article focuses on area models that are currently used in classrooms to provide concrete examples of integer and binomial multiplication. The…

Mathematical argumentation and proof has long been identified with algebraization. Much literature discusses the relationship between the two, but with little specificity on how particular semiotic features in argumentation relate to coordination in early algebra. Further, there is a particular lack of research on this topic in the…

A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to investigate the effect of the Cover-Copy-Compare (CCC) intervention on multiplication-fact fluency for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Although CCC is a well-researched intervention for mathematics, limited research has been conducted with students with EBD even…

Intending to improve the teaching and learning of the notion of mathematical proof this study seeks to uncover the kinds of flaws in postgraduate mathematics education student teachers. Twenty-three student teachers responded to a proof task involving the concepts of transposition and multiplication of matrices. Analytic induction strategy that…

In this paper we analyze the outcomes of a design experiment that sought to improve the multiplicative reasoning of 12-13 year-old learners across two schools in a South African context of low performance. Using a hybrid theoretical base in Realistic Mathematics Education, variation theory and analogical reasoning, a short-term intervention…

Competence with fractions is foundational to acquiring more advanced mathematical skills. However, achieving competency with fractions is challenging for many students, especially for those with mathematics learning difficulties who often lack foundational skill with whole numbers. Teaching fractions is also challenging for many teachers as they…

This small study sought to determine students' knowledge of multiplication and division and whether they are able to use sets of bundling sticks to demonstrate their knowledge. Manipulatives are widely used in primary and some middle school classrooms, and can assist children to connect multiplicative concepts to physical representations.…

We examined the type of errors on multiplication and division computation problems of 326 rising fifth graders enrolled in four elementary schools in Northern Portugal. We further examined whether there was a difference in the number of errors across age and whether there was an association between students' performance on number knowledge and…

In the present research, we provide empirical evidence for the process of symbolic integration of number associations, focusing on the development of simple addition (e.g., 5 + 3 = 8), subtraction (e.g., 5 - 3 = 2), and multiplication (e.g., 5 × 3 = 15). Canadian children were assessed twice, in Grade 2 and Grade 3 (N = 244; 55% girls). All…

This study analyzed the methods used to teach the multiplication of fractions in Turkish and American textbooks. Two Turkish textbooks and two American textbooks, "Everyday Mathematics" (EM) and "Connected Mathematics 3" (CM), were analyzed. The analyses focused on the content and the nature of the mathematical problems…

How do students cope with and make sense of polysemy in mathematics? Zazkis (1998) tackled these questions in the case of 'divisor' and 'quotient'. When requested to determine the quotient in the division of 12 by 5, some of her pre-service teachers operated in the domain of integers and argued for 2, while others adhered to rational numbers and…

Multiplicative reasoning is a key concept in elementary school mathematics. Item statistics reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment provide the best current indicator for how well elementary students across the U.S. understand this, and other concepts. However, beyond expert reviews and statistical analysis,…

We report results from a mathematics content course intended to help future teachers form a coherent perspective on topics related to multiplication, including whole-number multiplication and division, fraction arithmetic, proportional relationships, and linear functions. We used one meaning of multiplication, based in measurement and expressed as…

In the last decades, many research projects have indicated that, especially for children with mathematical difficulties, procedural training programs seem to be very helpful in promoting learning of multiplicative routines such as the times table. However, there is less knowledge about whether and how a conceptual understanding of multiplication…

Counting problems offer rich opportunities for students to engage in mathematical thinking, but they can be difficult for students to solve. In this paper, we present a study that examines student thinking about one concept within counting, factorials, which are a key aspect of many combinatorial ideas. In an effort to better understand students'…