Three experiments used dual-task suppression methodology to study the use of inner speech and visuospatial resources for mediating central executive performance by children with autism (CWA) and group-matched typically developing (TD) controls. Expt 1 revealed that CWA did not recruit inner speech to facilitate arithmetic task-switching…

Children's reasoning was examined within two educational contexts (word reading and addition) so as to understand the factors that contribute to relational reasoning in the two domains. Sixty-seven 5- to 7-year-olds were given a series of related words to read or single-digit addition items to solve (interspersed with unrelated items). The…

The nation is facing a crisis in its community colleges: more and more students are attending community colleges, but most of them are not prepared for college-level work. The problem may be most dire in mathematics. By most accounts, the majority of students entering community colleges are placed (based on placement test performance) into…

Transfer of strategies between problems sharing the same formal structure is facilitated by a semantic recoding that makes evident the structural similarities between the problems. Two experiments were carried out among 4th and 5th grade pupils, with an experimental group trained to compare strategies in order to reinterpret an arithmetic word…

Results from 2 relational-priming experiments suggest the existence of an automatic analogical coordination between semantic and arithmetic relations. Word pairs denoting object sets served as primes in a task that elicits "obligatory" activation of addition facts (5 + 3 activates 8; J. LeFevre, J. Bisanz, & L. Mrkonjic, 1988). Semantic relations…

Three studies addressed children's arithmetic. First, 50 3- to 5-year-olds judged physical demonstrations of addition, subtraction and inversion, with and without number words. Second, 20 3- to 4-year-olds made equivalence judgments of additions and subtractions. Third, 60 4- to 6-year-olds solved addition, subtraction and inversion problems that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of domain-general cognitive resources and different forms of arithmetic development to individual differences in pre-algebraic knowledge. Children (n = 279, mean age = 7.59 years) were assessed on 7 domain-general cognitive resources as well as arithmetic calculations and word problems…

This article portrays action research conducted in relation to students' faulty use of the equality sign in a Grade Four mathematics classroom in Sweden. Substantial background on teacher-researcher collaboration that prepares ground for the action research is offered. Drawing on cultural-historical and activity theory perspectives, the conduct of…

A study was conducted at a southern university in sophomore level production classes to assess skills such as the order of arithmetic operations, decimal and percent conversion, solving of algebraic expressions, and evaluation of formulas. The study was replicated using business statistics and quantitative analysis classes at a southeastern…

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e.,…

One of the most fundamental math skills for students to learn is basic computational skills. Students who have difficulty learning math skills may benefit from representational approaches, such as TouchMath. A multiprobe, multiple baseline, across-participants design was used in this study to investigate the use of TouchMath with students with…

Early measures of mathematics skill and development have focused on early numeracy skills like counting, number identification, and sequencing of numbers. This study attempted to expand early mathematics assessment. Six new measures of early mathematics skill competence were developed and evaluated. Four existing measures also were examined.…

Second-year undergraduate students from 2008, 2009, and 2010 cohorts were asked to respond a questionnaire to determine their learning style preferences, the VARK questionnaire (where V is visual, A is aural, R is reading-writing, and K is kinesthetic), which was translated into Spanish by the author. The translated questionnaire was tested for…

Developmental predictors of children's fraction concepts and procedures at the end of fourth grade were investigated in a 2-year longitudinal study. Participants were 357 children who started the study in third grade. Attentive behavior, language, nonverbal reasoning, number line estimation, calculation fluency, and reading fluency each…

Mathematics, in general, and algebra courses, in particular, have been categorized as "gatekeepers" for higher education, better jobs, and even citizenship. For many low-income and working adults, community college is the institution where they choose to develop their mathematics understanding so they can pursue their dreams.…