Fifteen mathematical puzzles and problems are presented. Areas investigated include pentominoes, arithmetic, fractions, and dissections (dissecting) a shape into two pieces that can be fitted together to form a square. Answers for each puzzle and problems are included. (JN)

Describes five computer-oriented activities suitable for middle grade students. Activities focus on use of spreadsheets to record nutrition data, programs that cause lights to twinkle on a Christmas tree and balloons to burst, an arithmetic problem, and a mathematics exercise using a spreadsheet. (JN)

Compared performance of Malaysian children with that of English children on a test into the understanding of number concepts. Findings indicate that difficulties of Malaysian children may be quite different from those of English children. Among the difficulties identified were misconceptions about the order of operation in division and…

The relationships between three types of tasks were investigated with 428 children from kindergarten through grade 6 showing that correspondence, seriation, and transitivity reflected different underlying concepts. Thus, it was concluded that neither correspondence nor transitivity tasks can serve as replacements for traditional seriation tasks in…

A study conducted with kindergarten and elementary school children showed that Piagetian tasks which measured seriation, conservation, and multiple classification were equal or superior to traditional intelligence tests in predicting number language, number line comprehension, and verbal arithmetic. (GC)

Uses of the historical approach to the teaching of mathematics throughout the last century are discussed. Examples from turn-of-the-century tests are provided, and the place of history in Mathematics teaching today is explored. (SD)

This paper describes the Rational Number Project (RNP), teaching experiments concerned with the teaching and learning of fractions among 4th and 5th grade students. Interviews with 4th grade students who used the RNP curriculum and with students who used a traditional curriculum were conducted by RNP staff as well as classroom teachers. This paper…

The development of proportional reasoning is a major focus of the middle grades curriculum. The challenge for educators is to find contexts that engage students and that facilitate the study of proportional reasoning. This chapter explores proportional thinking with students in grades 3-8 by using a number of books in which the underlying stories…

This yearbook contains articles that give insight into students' thinking about factions, ratios, and proportions. Suggestions are offered on how to develop the concepts and skills associated with these topics. The book is divided into elementary, middle school, and professional development sections. Chapters include: (1) "The Development of…

This book presents ways to use high quality children's literature to plan small group workshops in mathematics for K-2 instruction. Each of the six sets of workshops is built around storybooks children love and focuses on a specific aspect of numeracy: shapes, counting, seriation, addition, money, and measurement. Each set is designed for a…

Previous studies stressed the importance of half as an anchor in performing proportion and probability tasks. Thus, it can be supposed that this reference can help children when adding fractions. This possibility is examined in this investigation, contrasting two situations: one in which half is presented as an anchor during the solution of adding…

Efforts to develop a mathematics curriculum that meets the needs of a modern society are reflected in reform recommendations across the developed world. A common requirement is for students to understand the calculation procedures they are taught and to develop "number sense". This paper will analyse students' strategies for calculating…

Seventh and eighth grade students identified as holding an incomplete fraction conception of decimals were tested on related fraction knowledge. Most of these students (78%) had a problem in coordinating the size of the parts and the number of parts in comparing fractions. These students underwent several instructional sessions. Half of them…

This package features videotapes and a study guide that are designed to help teachers revisit the operations of addition and subtraction and consider how students can develop meaningful approaches to these operations. The study guides' sessions are on addition, subtraction, the teacher's role, and goals for students and teachers. The readings in…

This report describes a classroom observation study in Korean primary mathematics classrooms. What was discovered in Korean classrooms was children, through higher level questioning, were being led to conceptualize the constructs and operations. The textbook was focused on the concepts in a concise, coherent and systematic manner similar to what…