Math is about the relationship between numbers. Right answers are not the only thing to look for when examining students' work in mathematics. Looking at how children solve computation problems can give teachers insight into their thinking and help determine what math skills they already know and what they still need to learn. The author contends…

This article describes how third-grade students developed an understanding of the equals sign and began to use relational thinking as they discussed true/false and open-number sentences. The sequence of instructional activities and children's responses to them are provided.

Background: In this study, 2 main hypotheses have been put forward to explain the variation in childhood intelligence or school performance by season of birth. In the first hypothesis, it is suggested that it is due to school policy concerning school entry, whereas the second suggests that a seasonally patterned exposure such as temperature,…

This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at the University of New Brunswick in Fredricton, New Brunswick. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning.…

This booklet is a designed to introduce adult basic education/literacy instructors to a spiral sequencing approach that may be used to teach whole number skills. The booklet begins with a brief discussion of integration of numeracy into literacy instruction. Discussed next are the benefits of using a spiral sequence for numeracy facilitation and…

This numeracy package, which is intended for use by facilitators in group or tutoring situations, consists of materials designed to help adult literacy students understand number systems, appreciate the different roles that numbers play in daily life, and gain the confidence needed to work with numbers in everyday situations. Part 1, which…

This book provides ideas, practical suggestions, and blackline masters to present mathematics concepts using cooperative learning activities in the primary grades. The first sections explain how to make cooperative learning part of the curriculum and include an overview, instructions, and activities for introducing cooperative learning to students…

This paper posits that, as educators' attention turns to elementary mathematics as preparation for algebra, it is important to begin by examining the kind of elementary mathematics content teaching that is aligned with reform. The paper calls for a close examination of students' development of operation sense. The role of children's engagement…

This book is a compilation of recent research on the development of multiplicative concepts. The sections and chapters are: (1) Theoretical Approaches: "Children's Multiplying Schemes" (L. Steffe), "Multiplicative Conceptual Field: What and Why?" (G. Vergnaud), "Extending the Meaning of Multiplication and Division" (B. Greer); (2) The Role of the…

To test the theory of mental calibration for mental addition it was hypothesized that the mean reaction time for problems in homogeneous sets will be faster than for problems in heterogeneous sets and that the reaction time was inversely related to ability and development (grade level) and independent of gender. Three sets of 40 addition problems…

In this paper four programs are described in which children learn multidigit number concepts and operations with understanding: (1) the Supporting Ten-Structured Thinking projects, (2) the Conceptually Based Instruction project, (3) Cognitively Guided Instruction projects, and (4) the Problem Centered Mathematics Project. The diversity in these…

Twenty-seven supplemental lessons for primary students involving mathematical thought problems on addition, subtraction, and comparison (e.g., greater than and less than) are presented. Each of the lessons contains 10 or more problems which students either hear or read and then respond to either orally or on written answer sheets. The materials in…

Focused on the effects of difficulty level and choice of difficulty level on the engagement of students working CAI (computer-assisted instruction) math problems, possible patterns of student choices, and the relationship of locus of control measures to choice of difficulty levels. (Author/BJG)

The theme of the sixth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of Psychology of Mathematics Education was "The Importance of Psychological Models for Research in Mathematics Learning." The conference proceedings contain papers organized around five major topics. In the first section, eight papers on the learning of arithmetic are…