Presents a look at the history of algebra with a historical-psychological framework. This article is one of the keynote addresses of the Algebra Working Group of the Seventh International Conference on Mathematical Education held in Quebec City, Canada in August 1992. (33 references) (MKR)

Clarifies aims and objectives of school algebra, reviews research on students' performance, and suggests curriculum modifications. This article is one of the keynote addresses of the Algebra Working Group of the Seventh International Conference on Mathematical Education held in Quebec City, Canada in August 1992. (26 references) (Author/MKR)

Presents a summary report of the Algebra Working Group's discussion subgroup on tertiary algebra at the Seventh International Conference on Mathematical Education held in Quebec City, Canada in August 1992. (MKR)

Pre- and posttests of prerequisite vocabulary terms were given to (n=162) intermediate and (n=178) college algebra students to determine their word knowledge and differences between the intermediate and college algebra students. (11 references) (MKR)

An error in an essential equation within the article by Williams and Zimmerman is corrected, and the algebraic inequalities are translated into questions a researcher can ask about simple or residualized difference scores. Williams and Zimmerman acknowledge the error and note that main conclusions are not affected. (SLD)

Provides activities that support students as they develop their intuitive notions of graphs. Activities help students describe the relationships expressed in the graphs and make generalizations about inferences on the basis of the visual image. (ASK)

Considers various aspects of teaching and learning stemming from the integration of graphing calculator use in a semester-long college algebra course. Argues that technology use has had a positive impact on various dimensions of student learning. (Author/CCM)

Compares two groups of students in an intermediate algebra course and two groups of students in a college algebra course with regard to the use/non-use of computer algebra software in the courses. Indicates that in both courses, students using the software outperformed the students not using the software on a common final exam. (Author/ASK)

Examines students' understanding of the quantitative relationships, operations, and properties of relationships and operations that are introduced in arithmetic and beginning algebra courses. Develops alternative approaches to the teaching of structure such as the structural-to-computational model and the procedural-to-structural model. Concludes…

Examines advanced students' course taking procedures and their senior year mathematics participation. Concludes that students who took early algebra demonstrated a substantially higher participation rate in advanced mathematics in the later grades of high school than students who did not. (Contains 25 references.) (ASK)

Presents a study using a module of work based on a graphing calculator that provided an environment where students could experience some aspects of variables and begin to build an understanding of them. Graphing calculators proved to be an instrument for achieving significant improvement in student understanding, which had often proved difficult…

Interviews 53 sixth grade students individually in an attempt to discover whether wrong interpretations of the algebraic structure found in an algebraic context occurs in a purely numerical context. Concludes that students' difficulties with the algebraic structure were also found in purely numerical contexts. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/ASK)

Algebraic calculators with symbolic manipulation capabilities are tools in some classrooms for 14-19 year olds, and their use in learning and teaching mathematics is likely to increase over time. Explains the reports of government-initiated working groups that consider the implications of their use in academic mathematics examinations for…

The factor structure of three commonly used measures of mathematics anxiety was examined using a sample of 323 undergraduates in an algebra class. Six oblique factors were identified, but results did not support the existence of a single common dimension of mathematics anxiety as represented by the six factors. (SLD)

Suggests that no matter how much algebraic thinking is introduced in the early grades, and no matter how worthwhile this might be, the failure rate in algebra will continue unless the teaching of fractions and decimals is radically revamped. The proper study of fractions provides a ramp that leads students gently from whole number arithmetic up to…