This report discusses the place of numeracy in adult education, examines conceptions of what numeracy and numeracy provision might include, and explores links between literacy and numeracy provision. Section A takes a critical look at how much attention is being paid to mathematics education in adult education/adult literacy programs and addresses…

In the area of cognitive skills, the actual differences between males and females are relatively small. Females score slightly higher on verbal tasks and males score slightly higher on mathematical tasks. According to the cognitive approach to stereotypes, people should perceive these differences to be quite large. To determine whether subjects…

Presents findings from studies of the ways teachers teach math. Most teachers do not use an extended development component in math lessons. Describes an inservice training model that can improve the performance of teachers and their students. Includes references. (MD)

Presents a study testing the hypothesis that students of informal as opposed to formal teachers would score better on the Richmond work-study tests than on the language and mathematics tests. Results find differences between formal and informal classes to be insignificant but individual students to differ in hypothesized directions. (Author/AEM)

Teachers can help students with learning problems in solving arithmetic word problems by following the principles commonly used in the design of Direct Instruction curricula: teach rules and strategies rather than rote memorization; sequence examples and skills carefully; and introduce and review skills cumulatively. (CB)

Describes a three-day workshop designed to provide math instructors with an understanding of how the skills they teach are applied and reinforced in vocational education programs. (JOW)

The results of this study suggest that, as girls seem to be more receptive to learning at an earlier age, they should start in second or third grade with math enrichment over and above the regular math class. This early intervention might help decrease the inequities that occur later in schooling. (Author/RDN)

Holds that virtually all children possess informal abilities required for school success and that most problems in school mathematics stem from social, personality, or educational factors. Describes children's informal mathematical thinking, presents clinical observations, and discusses implications for instruction of children experiencing…

An interest inventory was administered to 99 fourth-graders and used to personalize a pool of word problems previously selected by experts. Subjects were then administered tests with standard and personalized problems. Results indicated that personalization improved performance in selecting the correct process but not in computation of correct…

Investigated effects of computer assisted instruction (CAI) on learning efficiency, defined as either higher passing percentage or less time on task. Subjects (N=24) were college mathematics students who either were lectured or had a CAI tutorial on the lowest common denominator. The CAI group took less time, but solved more problems incorrectly.…

Results indicate that it is the combined influence of self-perceptions of several career-relevant abilities that differentiates the nontraditional math and science career aspirants from more traditional math/science and nonmath career aspiration group members. Implications for professionals working with the mathematically talented female…

Results from a study of 485 young children provided evidence that the development of counting skills is an evolving process in which parts of a relatively simple rule are replaced by features that enable the child to perform an increasingly broad range of counting tasks. (Author/BW)

In this book, parents will find ways to help teachers nurture important emerging math skills, from sorting and division of materials to early counting. Basic ideas and tools, including classroom-tested activities, will help support their child's math learning, both at home and in child care. Following an introduction, the book contains three…

This book is designed to help students gain the range of math skills they need to succeed in life, work, and on standardized tests; overcome math anxiety; discover math as interesting and purposeful; and develop good number sense. Topics covered in this book include measurement and data analysis such as measuring distance, space, time, capacity,…

Human nature had traditionally been the realm of novelists, philosophers, and theologicians, but has recently been studied by cognitive science, neuroscience, research on babies and on animals, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology. In this paper I will show--by surveying relevant research and by analyzing some mathematical "case studies"--how…