This edited volume gathers contributions from international scholars focusing on social media's role and impact on mathematics education. Social media's integration into pedagogical strategies (from social networking sites to video-sharing platforms) offers the opportunity to enhance learning by fostering connectivity and engagement among…

The aim of this book is to convey to teachers the potential of out-of-school environments for mathematics education. This book is primarily intended to inform teachers about the potential of out-of-school learning environments for mathematics learning/teaching. First of all, these environments will be introduced to teachers. It will be explained…

This guidance report focuses on the teaching of mathematics to pupils in Key Stages 2 and 3. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to mathematics teaching. We have made recommendations where there are research findings that schools can use to make a significant difference to pupils' learning, and have focused on the questions that…

Concrete problems were significantly less difficult than abstract problems at both junior and senior high school levels, as previously observed at elementary school level. Factual problems were significantly less difficult than hypothetical problems at junior and senior high school levels, in contrast to elementary school results. (MNS)

Algebra word problems were analyzed in terms of the information integration tasks that are required to solve the problems. These tasks were classified into three levels: value assignment, value derivation, and equation construction. Novices (35 first year algebra students) and experts (13 analytic geometry students) were compared on the proportion…

Gifted secondary students not only solved problems better, faster, and with less assistance than average pupils, but also processed information in a different fashion. (MNS)

For an entire school year, 24 seventh-grade classes were taught problem-solving strategies; in 14 of these classes the instruction was supplemented by calculators. Mixed findings resulted for both problem solving and calculator use. (MNS)

Explores the role of spatial orientation skill in the solution of mathematics problems. Reports the role of estimating the approximate magnitude of a figure; demonstrating the flexibility to change; adding marks to show relationships; moving or assessing the size and shape of figure; and getting the correct answer. (YP)

Students were asked to make up a mathematics problem that would be difficult for a friend to solve: a subsample of 11- to 13-year-olds was interviewed as they solved the problems. Made-up problems were found to be a useful tool for studying mathematically talented children. (MNS)

This paper, which addresses the issue of representation as an internal construct corresponding to an external abstract configuration, attempts to extend A. A. DiSessa's phenomenological primitives to mathematics (particularly to the notion of circle). Various acceptations of the word representation are examined, using the notion of a circle as an…

Reviews research which indicates that students performed better on problems when extraneous information was absent than when extraneous information was present. However, recommends that teachers embed word problems with realistic contexts, that is, contexts that contain extraneous bits of information to help students transfer their problem-solving…

Some ideas are presented about the ways in which the three domains of metacognition, affective factors, and beliefs influence the cognitive activities of seventh graders as they solve mathematics problems. The research project, initiated in 1981, is first described. Theoretical considerations are then discussed, with sections on affects, beliefs,…

This case study examined an experienced secondary school mathematics teacher's knowledge and teaching of problem solving, using interviews, classroom observations, teaching documents, and experimental tasks. The informant revealed a broad interpretation of problem solving, integrated with mathematics but widely applicable. This interpretation…

During the summer of 1986 a group of 15 racially diverse students entering 10th and 11th grades participated in an intensive 4-week course taught by members of an NSF-funded project. The project's goals were to develop science and mathematics curricula based on the principles of systems dynamics. The course was a test of materials intended to…

Annual mathematics talent searches for 12-year-old students were conducted in Hamburg, West Germany. One-hundred-fifty students took part in a long-term Saturday enrichment program to train them in problem finding and problem solving. The philosophy of this program is explained and illustrated with preliminary data. (MNS)