A theoretical analysis of the development of numerical representations indicated that playing linear number board games should enhance preschoolers' numerical knowledge and ability to acquire new numerical knowledge. The effect on knowledge of numerical magnitudes was predicted to be larger when the game was played with a linear board than with a…

At the heart of the recent focus on mathematics has been an increased emphasis on developing students' "number sense." Ironically, although growing as a force in the education literature, number sense has not been clearly defined for teachers. Teachers need specific support in understanding how to develop number sense in students, to…

Arithmetic abilities acquired in kindergarten are found to be strong predictors for later deficient arithmetic abilities. This longitudinal study (N = 684) was designed to examine if it was possible to predict the level of children's arithmetic abilities in first and second grade from their performance on preparatory arithmetic abilities in…

Mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) occur frequently in children with specific genetic disorders, like Turner syndrome, fragile X syndrome and neurofibromatosis. This review focuses on MLD in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). This syndrome is the most common known microdeletion syndrome with a prevalence of at…

This article reports results of a four-year longitudinal study that investigated the impact of specific and non-specific precursors on mathematical school achievement. Preschool quantity-number competencies (QNC) predicted mathematical achievement in primary school. Furthermore, basic arithmetic fact retrieval in Grade 1 had an impact on early…

The aim of this single-case intervention study was to examine whether a conceptual knowledge-based strategy training would improve the accuracy of single-digit arithmetical calculation in a child with specific language impairment. The intervention concerned an 11-year-old Finnish-speaking child with specific language impairment. He was trained…

The underlying neural mechanisms of developmental dyscalculia (DD) are still far from being clearly understood. Even the behavioral processes that generate or influence this heterogeneous disorder are a matter of controversy. To date, the few studies examining functional brain activation in children with DD mainly focus on number and counting…

Appropriate concrete and pictorial models allow students to construct meaning for rational numbers and operations with the numbers. To develop deep understanding of rational number, sixth through eighth graders must experience a variety of models (NCTM 2000). Since 1979, personnel from the Rational Number Project (RNP), a cooperative research and…

In Singapore, 6-12 year-old students are taught to solve algebra word problems with a mix of arithmetic and pre-algebraic strategies; 13-17 year-olds are typically encouraged to replace these strategies with letter-symbolic algebra. We examined whether algebra problem-solving proficiency amongst beginning learners of letter-symbolic algebra is…

Strategies used to solve two-digit addition problems (e.g., 27 + 48, Experiment 1) and two-digit subtraction problems (e.g., 73 - 59, Experiment 2) were investigated in adults and in children from Grades 3, 5, and 7. Participants were tested in choice and no-choice conditions. Results showed that (a) participants used the full decomposition…

This research examines students' ability to integrate algebraic variables with arithmetic operations and symbols as a result of the type of instruction they received, and places their work on scales that illustrate its location on the continuum from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. It presents data from pre- and post-instruction clinical…

This dissertation presents two studies designed to examine the topic of fraction division in selected Chinese and US curricula. By comparing the structure and content of the Chinese and "Everyday Mathematics" textbooks and teacher's guides, Study 1 revealed many different features presented in the selected curricula. Major differences…

Previous research has emphasized the importance of language for learning mathematics. This is especially true when mathematical problems have to be extracted from a meaningful context, as in arithmetic word problems. Bilingual learners with a low command of the instructional language thus may face challenges when dealing with mathematical…

This study investigated "individual differences" in different aspects of early number concepts in preschoolers. Eighty 4-year-olds from Oxford nursery classes took part. They were tested on accuracy of counting sets of objects; the cardinal word principle; the order irrelevance principle; and predicting the results of repeated addition…

The aim of this study was to investigate the strategies used by third graders in solving the 81 elementary subtractions that are the inverses of the one-digit additions with addends from 1 to 9 recently studied by Barrouillet and Lepine. Although the pattern of relationship between individual differences in working memory, on the one hand, and…