Prekindergarten children were given a perceptual discrimination task using letterlike forms and their transformations. The magnitude of the relation to subsequent achievement in reading varied according to the difficulty of a transformation. More easily discriminated transformations were associated with higher correlations. Patterns were similar…

Proposes three thought experiments on various contexts of teaching mathematics. The experiments are intended to raise questions about the mathematics curriculum and to engage discussion about what topics should have high priority in arithmetic teaching. (DDR)

Describes a project that allows students to derive fractions with varying denominators, estimate that fractional representation in a pie chart as a piece of the whole, and add their various fractions to find the sum equal to one whole. Includes samples of student work. (DDR)

The acquisition of multiplication facts by four elementary students with learning disabilities was compared under two instructional delivery formats--teacher directed and computer assisted. All students mastered more facts in the teacher-directed condition. In addition, teachers provided many more opportunities to respond and showed a higher…

Describes an activity whose objectives are to encode and decode messages using linear functions and their inverses; to use modular arithmetic, including use of the reciprocal for simple equation solving; to analyze patterns and make and test conjectures; to communicate procedures and algorithms; and to use problem-solving strategies. (ASK)

Describes a game originally published by the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) as a chance and data activity. Includes a variety of modifications and extensions of the board game, and a discussion on the use of an empirical approach as an access issue. (DDR)

Explores how to know when children think mathematically, how to establish a setting that elicits mathematical thinking, and what to learn about children as a result. Fourth grade students think and talk mathematically while tackling a real-life PACKETS program. Addresses content standards involving proportional reasoning as well as the process…

Introduces a toy, the Educated Monkey, developed to help students learn multiplication tables and associated division, factoring, and addition tables and associated subtraction. Explains why the monkey works and reviews geometric, algebraic, and arithmetic concepts. (KHR)

Proposes some possible ways of using an interactive whiteboard as a means of stimulating pupils' thinking and active participation. (KHR)

Describes a credit-card-debt activity that allows students to increase their awareness of underlying mathematical concepts relevant to the world of commerce and personal finance through learning geometric and arithmetic sequences. (KHR)

Evaluation of the ability of 77 students who are moderately to profoundly deaf to solve arithmetic word problems found that students who are deaf experienced delays in successful work problem performance. Results support the idea that the delayed language acquisition of this population affects their capacity to solve arithmetic word problems.…

Reanalyzes data obtained in 1987 on mental calculation strategies used by 11-year-olds in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Classifies mental strategies developed in the past decade in international research. Compares frequency and effectiveness of the strategies used by pupils of different levels of attainment. Discusses basic arithmetic…

Evaluated effects of a reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) intervention on arithmetic performance of 12 low-income, underachieving elementary school students. Results indicated that merely teaming students and providing them with positive attention for constructive team activities had no clear effect on arithmetic performance. RPT condition that…

This special section on cognition and mathematics contains an introduction and 13 articles on advances in the psychology of mathematics learning. The articles focus on how students learn to solve mathematics problems, including arithmetic computation problems, arithmetic word problems, and computer programing problems. (SLD)

Identifies four causes of confusion in reading mathematics related to numbers, symbols and sentences, vocabulary, and directionality. Discusses techniques for overcoming each type of the confusion. (YP)