A process of teaching fractions is detailed that respects pupil ideas and concept images and builds on these in a way that helps children to develop personal algorithms. This approach is an attempt to get away from perceived one-sided views found in most textbooks. (MP)

Three experiments were conducted to examine children's use of multiplying and proportionality rules in judgments of area. In the first two experiments, 7- through 8-year-olds were asked to judge the area of rectangles. In the third, 8- through 11-year-olds were tested on ratio of a rectangle compared to a horizontal line. Results indicated…

This study took place among undergraduates enrolled in first-year university courses and graduates enrolled in teacher-training courses. The test used is presented in full. Results indicated that misconceptions received in secondary-level courses tend to remain and factors relating to presenting and learning mathematics dominate all other…

Activities that can be used for maintenance of computational skills and can lead to the discovery of a pattern verifiable by an algebraic procedure are noted. The language of algebra is used in nonroutine settings, with several challenges for further exploration. (MP)

Ways of teaching students to read scales are presented as process instructions that are probably overlooked or taken for granted by most instructors. Scales on such devices as thermometers, rulers, spring scales, speedometers, and thirty-meter tape are discussed. (MP)

A program designed to plot three-dimensional graphs is described and presented. The program allows the user to select maximum and minimum ranges for X, Y, and Z, and can enlarge a graph on the screen or look at a portion away from the origin. It is in Applesoft BASIC. (MP)

Ways to make a discussion of the commutative properties of addition and multiplication more interesting to students are reviewed. An alternative promoted is a transposition-of-digits property, seen as useful in a number of instructional situations. The proposed investigation could be structured around calculator use. (MP)

Materials designed to promote student investigation of factoring quadratic polynomials over the integers through using a physical model are presented. Pupils are expected to discover regularities that will permit them to factor such polynomials at the symbolic level. Worksheet masters designed for classroom use are provided. (MP)

Examples from arithmetic, algebra, and calculus show that analogy and metaphor are as central to the expression of mathematical meaning as they are to expression of meaning in natural language. (MP)

A discussion on the general equation of a line shows how students can be lead to discover mathematical properties, find how one discovery leads to another, see how different branches of mathematics can lead to a solution, and be provided with a starting point for studying special mathematical topics. (MP)

Data from interviews with pupils who attempted to solve problems involving the appropriate weighing and combining of individual means into an overall mean is reported. For many, dealing with the mean seems to be a computational rather than a conceptual act, with many subjects unable to correctly carry out the task. (MP)

The author recommends allowing elementary students to use pocket calculators, so that they may concentrate on the sense of a math problem without getting bogged down in computation. He presents calculator activities on place value, estimation, and arithmetic operations, suitable for grades 1-6. (SJL)

The theory of unary and binary operations are discussed and illustrated with examples from school mathematics. Presentations of selected inverse operations are made and attention is drawn to certain "typical" problems that occur during instruction and learning of these concepts. (MP)

Aspects of the source of power of mathematics and the ways in which mathematics works are discussed. The author discusses various philosophies about mathematics, presents several unusual "real world" problems, and reviews the social consequences of the "imposition of mathematics" on humanity. (MP)

Incorrect answers on an arithmetic test given to 83 first-year students at Aberdeen College of Education in the United Kingdom are reviewed. The nature of wrong responses and the likely reasons for the given responses are discussed. (MP)