This study addressed the problem of how a prospective mathematics teacher's active engagement in a scientific inquiry can deepen the meaning of her extant mathematical concepts. We used a constructivist framework to analyze a 2-hour interview with a prospective mathematics teacher as she solved an open-ended problem of graphing a 3-D landform. We…

This report explores first year undergraduate mechanical engineering and mathematics students' conceptions of the derivative and the contribution that membership of different departments may have on these conceptions. Quantitative results suggest that mechanical engineering students develop a proclivity for rate of change aspects of the derivative…

This paper studies the modes of thought that occur during the act of solving problems in mathematics. It examines the two main instantiations of mathematical knowledge, the conceptual and the structural, and their role in the act. It claims that awareness of mathematical structure is the lever that educes mathematical knowledge existing in the…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of two learning strategies: summarizing and structured questions on near and far transfer tasks. The study explored the possible way to activate metacognitive strategies and critical thinking skills through the use of reflective activities, like summarizing or answering structured questions after…

This paper reports the results of a two-part qualitative study into student strategies for learning in distance learning courses offered at Teachers College, Columbia University. Verbal Protocol Analyses was used to gather information on the cognitive strategies students used to solve problems encountered as they navigated through the site. A…

This study examined the role of affect and conation in high school students science test performance, using a sample of 491 students. It provides a profile of partial corrections of standardized multiple-choice and constructed response test scores with affect and conation scores (after accounting for general ability and student background) at…

Because cognition is the core substance of understanding and sense making, cognition-based assessment is essential for understanding and monitoring students' development of powerful mathematical thinking. The Cognition-Based Assessment System (CBAS) project is applying the results, theories, and methods of modern research in mathematics education…

This paper explores the phenomenon of mathematical understanding, and offers a response to the question raised by Martin (2001) at PME-NA about the possibility for and nature of collective mathematical understanding. In referring to collective mathematical understanding we point to the kinds of learning and understanding we may see occurring when…

The paper is focused on recent researches in neuroscience and developmental psychology regarding mathematical abilities of infants. A model that tries to explain these findings is developed. The model underlies the mental operations that could be systematically trained to generate efficient school learning. The model is built from a cognitive…

This paper describes a study on how, and to what degree, students' demographic information, ethnic identity, and attitudes about women contribute to their ability to be empathic. The report defines an empathic person as one who is interpersonally sensitive and aware of one's self and impact in relationship to others and is responsible for the…

The background research on learning styles spans several decades, though much of it is quantitative data obtained using survey methods. Similarly, the research involving twins and their unique genetic condition historically predates the interest and knowledge of learning styles. This study seeks to explore both of these areas with the objective of…

To better understand the development of noncompensatory strategy use for decisions involving social and nonsocial objects, a decision board technique was used to trace the information acquisition process of 88 second-, fifth-, and eighth-graders. Findings indicated that second-graders searched the decision board (a matrix with 24 squares of hidden…

This study examined the impact of mid-semester student ratings feedback on a faculty's end-of-semester student ratings. The positive direction of the end-of-semester ratings in the two mid-semester feedback groups lent support to the premise that cognitive dissonance theory and various forms of mid-semester, student rating feedback can be used to…

This report describes a program for improving the transfer of the learning of different techniques used in computer applications. The targeted population consisted of sophomores and juniors in a suburban high school in a middle class community. The problem was documented through teacher surveys, student surveys, anecdotal records and behavioral…

Successful adult students employ strategies to learn, and effective adult education programs attend to the development of learning by enabling students to study learning processes in addition to content. Good learners have the ability to identify goals and the steps required to achieve them, identify the strengths of their own learning, actively…