This paper explores gender differential performance in "gifted and talented" 9- and 13-year-olds in a mathematics assessment in England. Boys' and girls' attitudes to mathematics and their views about which gender is better at mathematics are also considered. The study employs the use of a matched sample of boys and girls so that school,…

Mathematics and statistics play important roles in peoples' lives today. A day hardly passes that they are not bombarded with many different kinds of statistics. As consumers they see statistical information as they surf the web, watch television, listen to their satellite radios, or even read the nutrition facts panel on a cereal box in the…

Proposed three criteria to distinguish calendrical savants whose skills depend on memory from those who calculate and applied these to 10 calendrical savants. Results are discussed in relation to views that calendrical savants imply the existence of a modular mathematical intelligence or unconscious integer arithmetic. (SLD)

We investigated processing of numerical order information and its relation to mechanisms of numerical quantity processing. In two experiments, performance on a quantity-comparison task (e.g. 2 5; which is larger?) was compared with performance on a relative-order judgment task (e.g. 2 5; ascending or descending order?). The comparison task…

This study presents the results of a partial credit Rasch analysis of in-depth interview data exploring statistical understanding of 73 school students in 6 contextual settings. The use of Rasch analysis allowed the exploration of a single underlying variable across contexts, which included probability sampling, representation of temperature…

There are increasing concerns about the mathematics ability of students entering higher education. This situation appears to be as a result of the perceived lowering standards of A Levels, a reduction in entry requirements on some courses with a strong mathematical component and the wide-ranging educational backgrounds of many of the students.…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

A majority of studies on learning disabilities have focused on elementary grades. Although problems with learning disabilities are life-affecting only a few studies focus on deficits in adults. In this study adults with isolated mathematical disabilities (n = 101) and adults with combined mathematical and reading disabilities (n = 130) solved…

Health-care professionals in a degree program (n=54) averaged 60% on a mathematics test and expressed lack of confidence in their math ability. They most frequently described math in school as "frustrating." (SK)

Math skills pretesting of undergraduates in a principles of economics course revealed that mathematics background had no significant effects on learning in the course. (SK)

Two experiments demonstrate how individual differences in working memory (WM) impact the strategies used to solve complex math problems and how consequential testing situations alter strategy use. In Experiment 1, individuals performed multistep math problems under low- or high-pressure conditions and reported their problem-solving strategies.…

English language learners (ELLs) often find themselves marginalized with respect to learning mathematics in U.S. schools due, in part, to language barriers and gaps in prerequisite math knowledge and skills. The goal of this study was to use Sen's (1980, 1992, 1999) capabilities approach model as a lens through which to analyze the relationship…

Comparison of twins (40 identical and 23 fraternal) for mathematics deficits (MD), in which at least one member had a mathematics disability, found evidence for a significant genetic etiology. However, tests for the differential etiology of MD as a function of reading performance level were nonsignificant. (Author/DB)

One study tested two- through five-factor models of math self-efficacy sources with 295 college students, supporting a four-factor structure (performance, vicarious learning, social persuasion, emotional arousal). In a second study of 481 high school students, data fit a five-factor model (performance, adult modeling, peer modeling, social…

Relationship between stimulus type (numeric or verbal) and type of precocity (mathematical and verbal) was studied in 104 gifted young adolescents through tasks measuring working memory. The relationship between type of stimulus and type of precocity suggests underlying differences between verbally and mathematically precocious youth in memory…