This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at the Universite de Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning. The aims of…

A cognitive or internal representation refers to an organized system of information which reflects certain, but not all, of the information about reality being represented. This paper considers various opinions, controversies, and debates about what representation is, how it comes about, and what forms of representation can be distinguished. The…

This study focused on the development of policy thought, or abstract thinking about policy issues. Political thought may be described as concrete thinking about political phenomena. It includes one's knowledge of and attitude toward objects, people, and events in the political sphere. Policy thought entails the abstract manner in which one…

Two groups of l4 mothers were interviewed to study how parents reason about their children's behavior. The two samples differed considerably in terms of education, age, race, and socioeconomic status. The first group, high school educated, averaged 24 years of age, and, if married, had spouses with blue-collar jobs. The second group, college…

A study was designed to investigate the nature of language proficiency and its cross-lingual dimensions. The focus of the study was on the interdependence hypothesis, that older immigrant students whose first language (L1) cognitive/academic proficiency is better developed on arrival in Canada will acquire English cognitive/academic skills more…

Using science experiments in life science, chemistry, and physics, helps ground students' understanding of abstract algebra concepts in real-world applications. Hands-on activities connect mathematics with science in a way that is accessible to teachers and students alike. Each activity explores a scientific phenomenon, connecting it to algebra…

The cognitive processes in a widely used, non-verbal test of analytic intelligence--the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (J. C. Raven, 1962)--were analyzed. The analysis determined which processes distinguished between higher-scoring and lower-scoring subjects and which processes were common to all subjects and all items on the test. The analysis…

This report summarizes research on experienced programmers' comprehension of computer programs that was carried out over a three-year contract period (1982-85). Following an extensive review of the programming skill literature, an analysis of programs based on the multiple abstractions (points-of-view) that characterize program text and design was…

The reflective judgment (RJ) model is described, along with research findings based on the model and contributions to understanding student intellectual development in higher education. The RJ model (Kitchener & King, 1981) describes a series of changes that occur in the ways adults/young adults understand the process of knowing, and…

An inquiry attempted to build an agenda for research that would result in a cognitive theory of instruction capable of informing educational practice and extending the limits of knowledge about how people learn and develop. What would such a theory look like, how close are we to having one, and what directions must be followed to further its…

Teacher questions have been the subject of a substantial amount of research and analysis in recent years. Debate has centered around the appropriate use of this instructional and evaluative tool. A study examined the impact on student achievement of manipulating abstractness-concreteness, independent of cognitive level, in achievement test items.…

The Inductive Reasoning and Analytical Reasoning tests of the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation have been analyzed in a factorial study including marker tests for two commonly recognized reasoning factors, induction (three tests) and logical reasoning (two tests). The primary purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the Johnson…

Over the past several years, one study after another has uncovered a positive relationship between interpersonal interaction and individual achievement. According to a handful of these studies, interaction is more effective than are individually-based strategies for promoting reasoning. We give our attention here to the link that possibly exists…

The difficulties that younger students experience in understanding concepts related to the use of variables in computer programming are examined through descriptions of two studies: (1) detailed case studies of six highly intelligent children--three fourth graders and three sixth graders--who learned to program in BASIC during 60 hours of…

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare kindergarten and first-grade children's performance on addition and subtraction problems presented in two contexts: verbal (in which problem data were linked to physical referents such as objects or people and their actions), and abstract (in which no such links to physical situations…