Compared the problem-solving and computational skills of first-grade students whose teachers had participated in staff development to learn to teach using a Cognitively Guided Instruction framework to first-grade students whose teachers had not. Students in experimental classes performed significantly better in solving word problems and completing…

Given the recent reconceptualizations about the nature and the role of writing within the mathematics curriculum, the proposal to instigate similar reconceptualizations, regarding the nature and the role of reading mathematics within curricular designs, is discussed with respect to appropriate strategies and relevant contexts. (JJK)

Presents a unit developed by the 1991 Oregon Mathematics Teachers of Middle School project in which students investigate the average temperature, precipitation, and snowfall in their town using spreadsheets and graphing packages. Students compare the averages over a period of 30 years to a particular year. (MDH)

Presents a collection of computer programs for teaching elementary and middle school mathematics. At the primary level, programs teach students skip counting, measurement, graphs, number patterns, place value, addition, and subtraction. An action game for the upper elementary level teaches mental math, geometry, statistics, addition,…

Developing mathematical talent at the elementary level is a complex issue--one that is influenced by many components. The three main factors are: (1) levels of Math giftedness; (2) teacher background; and (3) appropriate resource materials. Keeping these issues in mind and knowing that each district and, indeed, each student is unique, this…

This study was designed to examine the effects of math anxiety and perfectionism on math performance, under timed testing conditions, among mathematically gifted sixth graders. We found that participants had worse math performance during timed versus untimed testing, but this difference was statistically significant only when the timed condition…

This packet includes reprints of journal articles and other resources concerning the assessment of science and math in small, rural elementary schools. Articles include: (1) "Standards, Assessment, and Educational Quality" (Lauren B. Resnick); (2) "A True Test: Toward More Authentic and Equitable Assessment" (Grant Wiggins);…

The purpose of this study was to characterize and compare novice and experienced elementary teachers' pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of three major topics in mathematics: whole number operation, fractions, and geometry. The study participants were 26 preservice elementary teachers and 28 experienced kindergarten through…

This booklet, written in Spanish, provides a guide for parents to help their children become successful in school mathematics. The information is divided into four sections: (1) important facts about the mathematics curriculum and mathematics instruction; (2) expectations about participation, calculators, cooperative learning, dialogue, and…

The goal of this paper is to renew interest in the structural option to algebra instruction. Concern for the usual secondary school algebra curriculum related to simplifying expressions, solving equations, and rationalizing numerators and denominators is viewed from three pedagogical approaches: (1) structural approach, (2) empirical approach, and…

Fourth grade elementary school children exhibiting high and low mathematics anxiety were trained on multiplication facts using the Math Builder Program, a computer program designed to bring their performance to the automaticity level. Mathematics anxiety, measured by the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale--Elementary version (MARS-E), was assessed…

This book is a guide to the development and use of performance tasks and rubrics in the middle school mathematics classroom. It contains a rationale for, and a discussion of strengths and limitations of, performance tasks to assess student achievement and progress in mathematics. A field-tested process is offered for developing performance tasks…

This book demonstrates, for teachers at all levels, applications of technology tools for the effective learning and teaching of mathematical skills and concepts as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). It focuses on the use of general-purpose computer tools in the mathematics classroom, with an emphasis on problem…

This report describes a collaborative effort between a research assistant and a fourth-grade teacher to develop a classroom community for teaching and learning mathematics which fosters problem solving, reasoning, intellectual risk taking, appreciation of diversity, trust, and shared ownership. The characteristics are consistent with suggested…

The phrase "technology and education" usually means inventing new gadgets to teach the same old stuff in a thinly disguised version of the same old way. Moreover, if the gadgets are computers, the same old teaching becomes incredibly more expensive and biased towards its dullest parts, namely the kind of rote learning in which measurable…