The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of chess in mathematics lessons for children with learning disabilities based on lower intelligence (IQ 70-85). School classes of four German schools for children with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to receive one hour of chess lesson instead of one hour of regular mathematics lessons…

This article addresses the issues of coaching and assessing. A preservice middle school teacher's unique solution to the Pizza problem was not what the professor expected. The student's solution strategy, based on sequences and a reinvention of Pascal's triangle, is explained in detail. (Contains 8 figures.)

The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of difficulty in 2 domains of mathematical cognition: computation and problem solving. Third graders (n = 924; 47.3% male) were representatively sampled from 89 classrooms; assessed on computation and problem solving; classified as having difficulty with computation, problem solving, both domains,…

For more than 20 years, the Ways of Coping Scale (WOCS) has been used extensively to measure coping. Yet beyond the original psychometric data, few studies have reexamined its properties utilizing the enormous body of research generated on the WOCS. Reliability has been assumed to be consistent as an attribute of the test. This study used…

Cigarette smoking is concentrated among low-income groups. Consequently, cigarette taxes are considered regressive. However, if poorer individuals are much more price sensitive than richer individuals, then tax increases would reduce smoking much more among the poor and their cigarette tax expenditures as a share of income would rise by much less…

Extreme-value statistics is often used to estimate so-called return values (actually related to quantiles) for environmental quantities like wind speed or wave height. A basic method for estimation is the method of block maxima which consists in partitioning observations in blocks, where maxima from each block could be considered independent.…

Studies report that students often fail to consider familiar aspects of reality in solving mathematical word problems. This study explored how different features of mathematical problems influence the way that undergraduate students employ realistic considerations in mathematical problem solving. Incorporating familiar contents in the word…

This literature review examines current practice in reporting school dropout rates and the impact that school dropout may have on adult education programs and policies. First, I investigate the five dropout estimates commonly reported by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), examining how these measures vary in their estimation of school…

Games for use in practicing rounding numbers and mental computation using tens and hundreds are described. The importance of estimation to computation is discussed. (SD)

Four methods of solutions and 12 calculative strategies were found from introspective reports of 15 skilled and 15 unskilled students in grades 11 and 12 doing mental multiplication. Unskilled students used strategies more suited to written than mental computation, while skilled students used strategies based on number properties. (MNS)

How children perceive doubling and halving numbers is discussed, with many examples. The use of calculators is integrated. The tendency to avoid division if other ways of solving a problem can be found was noted. (MNS)

Students who can compute mathematical problems in their heads have learned a skill that is important for estimating and for understanding the number system. Practice activities that can help students master mental computation skills are described. (PP)

A range of estimation techniques are described, and a series of mental computation procedures based on concepts of measurement and real numbers are presented in detail. (MP)

Presents a modified version of the Wheel of Fortune game for mathematics classrooms that engages students in solving equations by using formal and informal methods. Encourages mental computation and estimation. (ASK)

The authors investigated the use of a particular discourse practice--continued questioning and discussion after a correct answer was provided, which they called extended discourse--and examined the frequency and content of this practice in 17 Chinese and 14 U.S. elementary mathematics classes. They found that the Chinese classrooms had more, and…