A postal survey was conducted regarding statistical techniques, research methods and software used in the workplace by 913 graduates with PhD and Masters degrees in the biological sciences, psychology, business, economics, and statistics. The study identified gaps between topics and techniques learned at university and those used in the workplace,…

From a very young age, shoes for boys tend to be wider than shoes for girls. Is this because boys have wider feet, or because it is assumed that girls are willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion, even in elementary school? To assess the former, a statistician measures kids' feet. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Out of the 38 nations studied in the 1999 "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study" (TIMSS), children in Singapore scored highest in mathematics (National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, 2003). Why do Singapore's children do so well in mathematics? The reasons are undoubtedly complex and involve social aspects.…

Drawing conclusions from the comparison of datasets using informal statistical inference is a challenging task since the nature and type of reasoning expected is not fully understood. In this paper a secondary teacher's reasoning from the comparison of box plot distributions during the teaching of a Year 11 (15-year-old) class is analyzed. From…

Dramatic changes are occurring in the teaching and learning of mathematics in the nation's classrooms. It is no longer sufficient to be proficient in basic skills; students are now expected to develop deep conceptual understanding of a broad range of mathematical content areas. While there has been an increased focus on the need for equal…

The overall purpose of this paper is to describe a practical and useful approach to mathematics assessment that is meaningful to teachers, students and families. The format is highly flexible, yet specifically designed to provide detailed information as to the performance characteristics of the student and a variety of curricula and instructional…

While it has been suggested that patterning activities support early algebra learning, it is widely acknowledged that the shift from perceiving patterns to understanding algebraic functions--and correspondingly, from reporting empirical patterns to providing explanations--is difficult. This paper reports on the collaborations of grade 4 students…

The purpose of this study is to analyse science and mathematics lesson plans prepared in the light of drama based instruction by preservice elementary teachers. For this purpose, 12 female participants were chosen volunteerly. They gained basic knowledge and experience about creative drama by involving sample creative drama activities and lesson…

Many teacher educators model constructivist pedagogy to preservice teachers in the mathematics classes they take. Preservice teachers however, are not necessarily comfortable being a part of such a class. The following qualitative case study examined the expectations and reactions of a group of preservice teachers who were taking their final…

This article presents a study on how to improve the quality of Year 1 children's mathematical talk. Using a dictaphone, the children were recorded as they worked with their partner. Later, the children's responses were marked against a checklist of three types of talk: (1) disputational; (2) cumulative; and (3) exploratory. Throughout the study…

Mathematics is a core subject in the UK curriculum, with high standards achievement a policy of the UK government. Innovative approaches and strategies have been advocated to achieve these high standards. One approach that has been advocated is Precision Teaching, supported by its successful application in schools in the United States. For this…

This article examines students' ability to use the balance model to solve for unknowns. A teaching experiment was conducted in four Year 3 classrooms. This experiment focused on exploring the application of the balance model as an analogue for representing equations and solving for unknowns. The teaching experiment promoted a shift by students…

Forty-two studies comparing students with access to graphing calculators during instruction to students who did not have access to graphing calculators during instruction are the subject of this meta-analysis. The results on the achievement and attitude levels of students are presented. The studies evaluated cover middle and high school…

This article presents ways in which students ascertain that what they have learned in mathematics is true. Students in the middle school (and a few from other grades) were interviewed by prospective and in-service teachers. Students were asked what they had learned recently in mathematics and how they knew it was true. The answers were grouped by…

Teachers and administrators of Ogden Elementary School (Ogden, Kansas) had a problem--the school had had a pattern of poor student performance at least since 1991, when the Kansas State Assessment was implemented. Ogden had failed to reach the state standard of excellence (25% of tested students scoring in the "exemplary" category; 5% or…