Presents a case study of how one 11th-grader learned the meaning of the velocity sign. Her learning was not just an acknowledgment of a rule but also a broad questioning and revision of her thinking about graphs and motion. (16 references) (Author/MKR)

High school students (n=295) were administered variants of the student-professor problem to ascertain whether errors could be traced to implicit versus explicit relationships between the variables. Concludes that implicit variable relationship problems were harder than explicit variable relationship problems. A follow-up study to explore why is…

Explores the nature of language from a linguistic viewpoint and describes how mathematics can be seen to be a foreign language by students. Describes how natural language reading strategies provide language-specific problems to mathematics teachers. (MDH)

Examines aspects of language connections in the learning of mathematics in three sections that discuss the interaction between language, symbolism, and manipulatives; emphasis on context in language development; and language connections in problem solving. Presents implications for nonnative English speakers. (MDH)

Arithmetic algorithms include two types of rules: conventional rules that may be changed by authority, and may legitimately vary from one classroom or country to another (e.g. putting the sum below, rather than above, the numbers added) and logical rules that involve the logic of the algorithm. Changes in the logical rules produce incorrect…

In recognition of the fact that young children develop informal number concepts and strategies for solving several basic types of verbal addition and subtraction problems before entering school, but lose this ability after a few years of schooling, the study created and tested an intervention designed to build on the children's early insights. A…

Language syntax is discussed, followed by an overview of algbraic syntax. Evaluating algebraic expressions was chosen as the means to investigate the psychological basis of syntactic skills. Subjects' ability to perform evaluative tasks appropriately using standard algebraic notation was ascertained; then similar tasks were presented using a…

Although many of the word recognition skills needed to read narrative material are applicable to the language of mathematics, other specialized skills are also required to read mathematics materials. Among the factors contributing to students' problems in reading mathematics are the students' interest and motivational level, their readiness for…

A set of symbols is presented along with logical operators which represent the possible manipulations of the linear model. The use of these symbols and operators is to simplify the representation of analysis of variance models, correlation models and factor analysis models. (Author)

Explores the problem of combining algebraic terms from the students' point of view and suggests changes in certain traditional teaching practices. (PK)

Argues that before topics are added to or deleted from the traditional mathematics curriculum, it should be determined how technology can be used to teach that content. (PK)

Provides mathematical activities in reproducible format for students in grades seven through ten. Intended to review and reinforce mathematical symbolism, concepts and relationships appropriate for middle school students. The game format is modeled after a television game show. (PK)

Undergraduate students' written exams were analyzed from a freshman-level mathematics course that emphasized, among other topics, the study of mathematical logic. Findings indicate that on questions related to the negation of a conditional sentence, students performed much better when given natural-language contexts than they did on questions…

The physics learning problem that students usually regard equations and other symbols in physics as algebraic exercises rather than representations of real world phenomena is commonly known. This article discusses how the Web-based interactive instructional materials were used to help students connect the symbolic world and the real world. The…

The problems of using formalistic methods in the instruction of mathematics to elementary level children are discussed. Precision in mathematical language is not seen as a useful instructional tool, and functional modes of communication are stressed. (MP)