Following a brief discussion of some characteristics of the Amish culture and schools, data from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills are reported for 23 pupils in grades 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 in Pleasant Hill School near Bloomfield, Iowa. Thirteen pupils scored at or above the fifteenth percentile in mathematics concepts; 17 were at or above that level in…

This bulletin reports some of the findings from an analysis of assessments in mathematics that have been conducted in 32 states. Note is made of the variability in state reports, which make data comparisons implausible. Trends, however, could be observed. Each state department was contacted for a copy of the most recent mathematics assessment…

An elective unit was developed for a course (Math 20) which would teach students to program solutions to typical exercises. Development of the unit took place in a large senior high school in Alberta. The elective is 15 hours long, with the first five hours devoted to learning programming fundamentals and the final ten hours to programming…

This document consists of 51 articles (originally published in the "Arithmetic Teacher") which provide teachers with ideas for manipulative aids and activities. Guidelines used to select articles for this collection called for them to have a clear purpose and be related to a contemporary topic in the elementary school mathematics curriculum, to…

Arguing that high attrition rates and low grades in trigonometry classes underscore the need for changes in the approach to trigonometry instruction, these papers suggest an instructional model and present a proposal for its adoption at the College of San Mateo (CSM). The first paper begins with the argument that students' lack of preparation for…

This monograph was designed primarily to develop awareness of the benefits of using calculators to teach mathematics in grades K-8 and to provide teachers with some specific teaching ideas. The first section, on the rationale for using calculators, presents position statements from various groups and answers some questions about the use of…

Modified versions of a family decision-making scale were administered to 291 students in grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 and 314 parents to assess their perceptions of the degree to which the child shares power and authority with parents and participates in making decisions at home. Study 1 found support for the hypothesis that parent-child authority…

How seven pivotal skills in elementary school mathematics are treated in five current (1981-1983) textbook series for grades 2-4 is described. The report considers the amount of instruction and practice provided, where it is located in the textbook's year-long sequence of lessons, and the extent to which practice is concentrated in one place or…

This report provides a detailed analysis of skill complexes in the multi-year sequence of arithmetic and general mathematics that are covered in school textbooks prior to the beginning of formal algebra. The analysis is organized to show the shape of the learning opportunity that most students are likely to get in school by about the time they…

An evaluation was conducted of the Atlanta Public Schools Sunclasses program, which was designed to reinforce basic reading and mathematics skills of retained or administratively placed students in grades 1-4, through 10 instructional television programs aired during a 6-week period in the summer of 1984. Supplementary activities implemented to…

The objectives of this research were: (a) to identify the content and configuration of critical activity structures and routines in well-functioning classrooms; (b) to trace the origins of routines during the first four days of school; and (c) to identify the mechanisms used by expert teachers to teach students the content, the cues, and the…

The ability of tenth grade plane geometry students to structure concepts and relationships from a geometry unit on ratio, proportion and similarity was tested. Analysis of cognitive "maps" of the structural relationships possessed by twenty concrete and twenty formal subjects indicated that formal operational subjects structure subject…

Problems in mathematics instruction in Thailand that are related to language include the simultaneous use of both traditional Thai numerals and Hindu-Arabic numerals, misunderstanding of mathematics problems for cultural reasons, and/or difficulty in understanding problem context. Research has shown that elementary and secondary school children…

The Bilingual Pupil Services Program (B.P.S.) has been administered for ten years by the Office of Bilingual Education of the New York City Public Schools. In the 1983-84 school year the project provided in-service training of para-professionals to work with students of limited English proficiency (LEP) in grades one through six in the already…

Some diverse fields in which the effects of mental representations have been noticed are first discussed, largely through illustrations of differing problem-solving experiences. Then the LAKOS Project (Logical Analysis of Cognitive Organizational Structures) at the University of Osnabruck is described. A central concern is the specification of a…