The aim of this research is to investigate how well high-achieving students entering tertiary-level education in Ireland understand school algebra. As part of a larger project, a 31-item test was developed to assess first-year undergraduate students' understanding of basic algebraic concepts. The test was administered online to students studying…

Isomorphism and homomorphism are topics central to abstract algebra, but research on mathematicians' views of these topics, especially with respect to sameness, remains limited. This study examines open response survey data from 197 mathematicians on how sameness could be helpful or harmful when studying isomorphism and homomorphism. Using…

This descriptive research aimed to know students' problem-solving ability in arithmetic operations on algebra forms through an Indonesian realistic mathematics education, namely Pendidikan Matematika Realistik Indonesia (PMRI), approach in secondary school number 17 Palembang. The learning process, material, and assessment used were principles and…

A teacher of mathematics knows mathematics as a teacher and as a mathematician. Whilst the existing research on teacher knowledge contributes to our understanding of the ways of knowing mathematics as a teacher, little is known about ways of knowing mathematics as a mathematician. Guided by the conceptual framework of mathematical practices (MPs)…

There is a strong relationship between the quality of education, teachers' decisions and instructional actions, and knowledge. All of them have an important role outcome of the lesson and students' learning. The focus of this study was to discover how the process of students' learning or incapability of learning was affected by teaching practices.…

The objective of this paper is to establish comparisons between the Linear Algebra (LA) approach practiced in Engineering courses offered by Chilean and Brazilian Higher Education Institutions and, for that, teachers from both countries were interviewed. From a methodological point of view, the research consists of two case studies. For the…

In this case study we explored how a mathematician's teaching of the Cauchy-Riemann (CR) equations actualized the virtual aspects of the equations. Using videotaped classroom data, we found that in a three-day period, this mathematician used embodiment to animate and bind formal aspects of the CR equations (including conformality), metaphors,…

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of some affective constructs, such as self-efficacy (SE), mathematics anxiety (MA) and mathematics interest (MI) on algebraic problem solving achievement (PSA). The sample of the study consists of 400 class IX secondary school students in Morigaon district of Assam, India. The instruments…

Using Balacheff's (2013) model of conceptions, we inferred potential conceptions in three examples presented in the spanning sets section of an interactive linear algebra textbook. An analysis of student responses to two similar reading questions revealed additional strategies that students used to decide whether a vector was in the spanning set…

Proof comprehension is an important skill for students to develop in their proof-based courses, yet students are rarely afforded opportunities to develop this skill. In this paper, we describe two implementations of an activity structure that was developed to give students the opportunity to engage with complex proofs and to develop their proof…

Algebraic thinking is the ability to generalize about numbers and calculations, find concepts from patterns and functions and form ideas using symbols. It is important to know the student's algebraic thinking process, by knowing the student's thinking process one can find out the location of student difficulties and the causes of these…

Researchers from multiple disciplines have found that fractions and algebra knowledge are linked. One major strand of research has identified children's "units coordination" structures as crucial for success with fractions and algebra via multiplicative reasoning, whereas a second strand of research points to "magnitude…

Researchers from multiple disciplines have found that fractions and algebra knowledge are linked. One major strand of research has identified children's "units coordination" structures as crucial for success with fractions and algebra via multiplicative reasoning, whereas a second strand of research points to "magnitude…

Although information related to mathematics achievement and participation are accessible, there is limited data associated with the simultaneous intersections of race and gender as it pertains to mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which differences were present in overall mathematics achievement by…

Solving problems in educational settings, as in daily-life scenarios, involves constantly assessing one's own confidence in each considered solution. Metacognitive research has exposed cues that may bias confidence judgments (e.g., familiarity with question terms). Typically, metacognitive research methodologies require examining misleading cues…