Several math activities designed to teach patterns which can be found in arrays of 16 squares organized into a four-by-four pattern are presented in this issue of "Student Math Notes." The activities include: (1) determining how many squares and rectangles are contained in a four-by-four array; (2) figuring out the least number of lines…

Upper-level secondary students investigated square and triangular numbers and Pythagorean triples using computers. (SD)

When primary children were interviewed to determine their perceptions of embedded triangles, they failed to observe overlapping triangles. Possible explanations for this and other response patterns are discussed, and implications for schooling are explored. (SD)

Students, using the materials provided, can determine the number of diagonals, number of triangles formed by the diagonals, and degree measures of interior and exterior angles of regular polygons. The activity is designed to lead them to general formulae for polygons with n sides. (SD)

Human infants are sensitive from birth to some intrinsic properties of objects; they are also sensitive to position. During the first weeks of life, pertinent dimensions of differentiation between objects are relative to global properties of the entire object or pattern. Position is defined by the direction of a displacement: the trajectory…

According to recent neurolinguistic theories and research, language and other analytic functions are located on the left side of the brain, while spatial and configurational abilities are located on the right side. However, there is some evidence that while learning a language requires the use of both hemispheres of the brain, the right hemisphere…

The interaction of reading ability with serial position indicates that short-term storage is equally robust for dyslexics and normals but that long-term storage is impaired for dyslexics. (Author/BJG)

Multi-shaped blocks can be used to help young children develop many mathematical concepts and abilities. Several suggestions for using these blocks to create problem situations through which children develop concepts are offered. (SD)

These student worksheets include activities in counting, place value, estimation, the four operations with whole numbers, number patterns, volume, inequalities, decimal equivalents of fractions, and percents, all to be worked with a calculator. (MP)

Five different ways are outlined in which calculators can be used to develop a student's ability: (1) to solve problems which use real-world data; (2) for solving a greater number of standard word problems; (3) for using different approaches to solve problems; (4) for extending problem situations; and (5) for using the calculator in an…

This paper discusses the theoretical problem of matching and abstraction of concepts as the processes occur in human minds, and the structures used to represent these processes for use in automated, knowledge based systems. A basic premise of the paper is that hierarchies play a crucial role in structuring knowledge and in solving problems. Data…

A set of studies investigated the relative importance of operative schemes and figurative (rote) memory. In Study I, 60 concrete operational children from grades 1-4 were asked to reconstruct two types of stimuli from memory. In order to separate the effects of operative and figurative skill use, learning disabled children with poor figurative…