Secondary geometry students were tested for van Hiele level of thinking, geometry knowledge and achievement, and proof-writing achievement. Proof-writing achievement correlated significantly with van Hiele level entering geometry knowledge and geometry achievement. The predictive validity of the van Hiele model was supported. (Author/DC)

Observes 75 first- and third-grade children in their classroom mathematics seatwork to test assumptions drawn from Vygotsky's theory about the development of private speech and its relationship to task performance, attention, and motor behaviors accompanying task orientation. (HOD)

Parents of 42 children (ages 2-32) with Lesch-Nyhan disease were questioned concerning the subjects' behavior patterns. Grouping of responses into nine categories of cognitive skills indicated that only one boy showed any significant cognitive impairment. Despite evidence of good cognitive and emotional skills, subjects were academically delayed,…

Presented is a study which focused on using turtle graphics programing for geometric problem solving. The goal was to investigate changes in children's mathematical knowledge and results indicate that the LOGO environment enriched children's geometric conceptualizations and sophistication of their geometric thinking. (KR)

Reported are the effects of a conceptually oriented unit on decimal fractions. The relationships between short-term changes in solving processes and the stability of these processes over time, performance of students, and entry achievement level and the long-term effects of conceptually based instruction are discussed. (KR)

This project was designed to produce a program evaluation and needs assessment of the 1982 Alberta Elementary School Mathematics Program in terms of cognitive level comparisons between student responses and curricular demands. Assessment procedures consisted of 14 individual interviews and 8 paper-and-pencil tests based on children's responses to…

This paper estimates the effects of freshman athletic participation on reading comprehension, mathematics, and critical thinking controlling for pre-college aptitude and other influences. A group of 3,331 students from 18 four-year and 5 two-year colleges and universities participated in initial testing during fall of their freshman year. Testing…

Reports on a study of the mathematical knowledge, strategies, and representations of 16 socially and ethnically diverse preschool children. Finds that the children bring a wide range of competencies that generally are more advanced than the curriculum content presented at that level. (CFR)

Examines the relationship between pupil characteristics of income, gender, chronological age, and level of cognitive development and selected domain-specific skills in mathematics. Results show mathematics performance as a function of the quality of thinking. Teaching to cognitive developmental level requires an individualized approach to…

This study examined the benefits to teachers who used impromptu writing prompts in first- and second-year algebra classes. Interpretive research methodology was used to collect and analyze data. Concluded that teachers' assessment of students' understanding was enhanced by reading their students' responses to impromptu writing prompts, thus…

Some research on the learning of mathematics and on learning in general suggests that students may acquire knowledge more efficiently when presented with worked examples rather than the traditional lecture-and-then-practice format. Good worked examples may facilitate the development of mathematical schemata, while a means-end approach may retard…

It is generally accepted that mathematical reasoning, like language acquisition, is part of normal cognitive development. This paper proposes that other variables must be considered when explaining the differences in the acquisition of mathematical reasoning skills in young children. Considered is some of the evidence that suggests that certain…

Deciding how to approach a word problem for solution is a critical stage of problem solving, and is the stage which frequently presents considerable difficulty for novices. Do novices use the same information that experts do in deciding that two problems would be solved similarly? This set of four studies indicates that novices rely more on…

This issue of "Investigations in Mathematics Education" contains: (1) 12 abstracts of research studies in mathematics education; (2) a list (by EJ number) of mathematics education research studies reported in the July-to-December 1984 issues of "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE); and (3) a list (by ED number) of…

The "Thinking Mathematics" approach to teaching is guided by two ideas: (1) that learning requires knowledge upon which new problems and situations are interpreted and (2) that mathematics skills are applied in context. This paper reports research that examined whether teaching mathematics students in high school remedial classes can be…