This study sought to improve students' comprehension of scientific graphs by adapting scaffolding techniques used to aid text comprehension. In 3 experiments involving 121 female and 88 male college students, some students were shown cognitive aids prior to viewing 4 geography graphs whereas others were not; all students were then asked to write a…

Collecting data and analyzing the results of experiments is difficult for children. The authors found a surprising way to help their third graders make graphs and draw conclusions from their data: digital photographs. The pictures bridged the gap between an abstract graph and the plants it represented. With the support of the photos, students…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in reading. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

This article describes two alternative coordinate systems and their use in graphing conic sections. This alternative graph paper helps students explore the idea of eccentricity using the definitions of the conic sections.

In light of evidence indicating that errors in making accurate pie charts are prevalent, an alternative method for constructing pie charts is proposed. It involves the use of a simple trigonometric formula to compute a factor of the length of the chord that defines a given percentage sector. This factor is multiplied by the radius of the circle to…

This article briefly describes the topics "beta coefficient"--a measurement of the price volatility of a company's stock in relationship to the overall stock market--and "market share"--an average measurement for the overall stock market based on a specified group of stocks. It then selectively recommends a database (file) on…

A study tested the data-ink ratio theory, which holds that a reader's recall of quantitative data displayed in a graph containing a substantial amount of non-data-ink will be significantly less than recall from a graph containing little non-data-ink, as it might apply to graphics used in mass circulation newspapers. The experiment employed a…

A study investigated the effects of chartoons--cartoon-like informational graphics--and three-dimensional graphs on the attractiveness of graphs and on the information gain from graphs. Subjects, 86 students from a mass communication course at the University of Texas, were randomly assigned to two experimental groups, each of which was shown a set…

Numerical tables of mathematical functions are in continual demand by scientists and engineers for preliminary surveys of problems before programming for computing machines. This handbook was designed to provide scientific investigators with a comprehensive and self-contained summary of the mathematical functions that arise in physical and…

Undertaken by a student from Rutger's University Graduate School of Library Service, this study is an analysis of the first 500 rejections received in response to his applications for professional library positions over a two year period. Job applications are categorized as solicited and unsolicited: these categories are further divided by type of…

THIS PAPER IS CONCERNED WITH GRAPHIC PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF GROUPED OBSERVATIONS. IT PRESENTS A METHOD AND SUPPORTING THEORY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN AREA-CONSERVING, MINIMAL LENGTH FREQUENCY POLYGON CORRESPONDING TO A GIVEN HISTOGRAM. TRADITIONALLY, THE CONCEPT OF A FREQUENCY POLYGON CORRESPONDING TO A GIVEN HISTOGRAM HAS REFERRED TO THAT…

This paper describes the SIGGS Theory Model as it applies to educational systems. This model, designed to simulate a wide variety of systems, uses sets (S), information (I), graph theory (G), and general systems (GS). The educational system is viewed as a set; in one example this set consists of teacher, student, curriculum, and setting. This…