Discusses the changes in the scanning of food and the current use of computer technology and UPC bar codes in a grocery store and traces the history of calculating tools from the use of fingers, abacus, slide rule, calculators, and computers. Includes reproducible student activity sheets. (MKR)

Examines how one teacher's way of knowing mathematics was reflected in language used in teaching concepts of rate to one student. The teacher's conceptualizations of rate were encapsulated in the language of numbers and operations which undermined his effort to help the student understand rates conceptually. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/MKR)

Discusses whether gender differences in mathematics education exist in Zambia, and what are the possible causes. Differences were found to be present both in terms of access and performance. Possible reasons for such differences are examined in light of attitude questionnaires, including the role of teachers. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/MKR)

Discussion of elementary school mathematics instruction focuses on computer graphing programs to teach subtraction that use pictorial representations as well as graphs. Classroom graphing activities for first graders are described, and evaluations of student progress based on pre- and posttests are discussed. (two references) (LRW)

Discussed are properties possessed by polygons inscribed in the lattice parabola y=x, including the area of a triangle, triangles of minimum area, conditions for right triangles, triangles whose area is the cube of an integer, and implications of Pick's Theorem. Further directions to pursue are suggested. (MDH)

Presented are six short articles on an application of an ellipse to carpentry, the area of an ellipse by stacking, using the isoperimetric quotient to solve a minimum problem, using an ill-posed trigonometry problem to encourage deeper exploration of concepts, the volume and centroid of the Step Pyramid of Zoser, and a unique telescoping series…

Challenged is the traditional model for the transmission of mathematics in the elementary school classroom. An inquiry approach to learning mathematics is proposed and supported with results of a year long research project that exposed second graders to mathematical learning experiences using this approach. (MDH)

This study examines the effect of formal representation of blue and yellow color mixtures as rational numbers on students' ability to solve ratio problems comparing the mixtures. Sixty subjects participated, 20 from each of grades 7, 8, and 9 from a Haifa (Israel) junior high school. Introducing the formal representation improved performance for…

Describes a study of the effect of teachers' verbal feedback on the ability of bilingual sixth graders to solve mathematical word problems. Treatment was based on Mayer's model of problem solving. Results indicated that theory-based feedback targeted to bilingual students' individual and class needs improved student mathematics performance. (GH)

Describes Louisiana's "Every Day Counts" program which helps boost elementary students' math skills via daily 10-minute activities with their bulletin board. The school calendar is used to explore patterns, examine data, and make predictions. Children work with place value, measurement, time, money, mental math, geometry, estimation,…

The focus of this article is patterns and pattern making using geometric figures. Included are sequentially planned activities for K-8 students that help them first to discover the attributes of various figures and later how to combine these figures into patterns. Finally, this information is applied to real world activities such as quilting and…

Subsequent to commentary that the most feasible locus for curricular change and instructional reform is the individual school, four models for change that implement the NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards are presented. These models are not offered as panaceas but rather as examples of efforts currently being utilized which may involve…

Three activities are presented to assess the level of students' geometric understanding according to van Hiele learning model. The activities--Descriptions, Minimum Properties, and Class Inclusion--are applied to the example of classifying quadrilaterals as squares, rectangles, rhombi, or parallelograms. Implications of this assessment are…

The harmonic mean, neglected in favor of arithmetic and geometric means in modern mathematics, is defined and its historical relationship to music as presented by Pythagoras is described. Two geometric constructions present a picture of harmony, and an application in calculating the square root of a number is given. (MDH)

Mathematics educators have led the educational reform movement in recent years. New curricula and innovative teaching methods are emerging in elementary and secondary programs, as illustrated by the work of the College Board, University of Chicago, University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco, and the National Science Foundation. (MSE)