Presents a mathematics activity that introduces proof by contradiction in a nonformal setting. This activity has the added benefit of helping students gain a greater understanding of the electoral college. (ASK)

Presents information on a project to promote young students' mathematical thinking in which teachers attempt to explore ways to foster students' mathematical development by watching a CD-ROM containing student interviews. Discusses the role that technology might play as a catalyst for teachers to reflect upon their teaching experiences against the…

Describes an activity in which students try to determine, by using physics calculations, when to drop a raw egg from a tower to hit their physics teacher who is walking beneath it. (WRM)

Used discourse analysis to examine outcomes of enriching preschoolers' play with artifacts emphasizing number symbols and to examine aspects of talk significant for early mathematical understanding in classrooms. Found that introducing the artifacts was associated with general increase in talk and activity involving the materials, with evidence…

Studied racial and sex differences in mathematics performance among elementary school students using data from the 1996 California Achievement Test in Louisiana for 4,670 fourth graders and 2,542 sixth graders. Results show some superiority in computation for African Americans, with the highest performance by black girls. Whites performed better…

Suggests a few alternative approaches to teaching algebra that allow students to construct and reflect upon meanings for expressions and equations. The three lessons, which require extended discussion and reflection, are "Representing Algebraic Expressions,""Evaluating Algebraic Statements," and "Generating Equations." (WRM)

Investigates the conceptual structures of Year 9 students in Korea and Australia while constructing various geometrical terms. Reports that two samples of students exhibited major differences in definition-ranking preferences on angle and in semantic profiles for some geometrical concepts due to the differences in nature of Korean and English.…

Describes a hands-on, guided-learning activity that forges vertical connections among grade levels and relies on physical models in the investigation of algebraic concepts. This lesson helps students discover that a given value can have multiple representations. Includes a sample student activity log. (AIM)

Describes how various projects helped middle school students build mathematical conclusions through algebraic thinking as they used number patterns and verbal rules to explore the interrelationships of representations. Suggests some topics for projects. (AIM)

Presents science investigations that involve some challenging mathematics related to proportional reasoning. Can be embedded in thematic, interdisciplinary units to reinforce understanding of specific proportions, provide practice in proportional thinking, or assess abilities in solving problems that involve proportions. (JRH)

Three experiments tested whether it is possible to teach college students who are not trained investigators to comprehend information regarding knowledge of conservation problems and mathematical equivalence conveyed through children's hand gestures. Findings suggest that instructing adults to attend to gesture enhances their assessment of…

Children from grades 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 made speeded, bimanual parity (odd/even) judgments of numerals. Response times indicated that from fourth grade on, parity information was retrieved directly from memory. By grade 3, children represented magnitude information as a left-to-right number line which was accessed obligatorily and, by grades 6 and…

This article describes TI-73 calculator activities appropriate for middle school students. It was found that the use of the calculator allowed for higher-level thinking and a richer exploration of mathematical ideas by students. [Included with this article are "Dice Roll Worksheet" and "Transforming Tree Worksheet".] (Contains 9 figures.)

This article illustrates students' efforts to resolve an apparent discrepancy between their self-generated solutions and the answer obtained using the division algorithm for fractions. (Contains 5 figures.)

This article details a variety of activities that can be used with middle school students to investigate the size of the number 1,000,000. The activities focus on real-life applications of mathematical proportions and helps students to understand the magnitude of large numbers. (Contains 8 figures.)