This paper reviews literature documenting gender differences in beliefs related to mathematics achievement. The areas included in the discussion are: (1) gender differences in mathematics achievement and self-referenced cognitions, (2) the effect of confidence and anxiety on mathematics performance and expenditure of effort, and (3) confidence and…

This paper examines the problem of automatic explanation of reasoning, or the ability of a program to discuss what it is doing in some understandable way, particularly as part of an expert system. An introduction presents a general framework in which to view explanation and reviews some of the research in this area. This is followed by a…

Past research indicates poor agreement about strategies people use to assess covariation between events. This research investigates method of assessment as one possible source of this low consensus. A set of problems was developed in such a way that different judgment rules would produce different decisions about the relationships between events.…

Four strategies used in judgment patterns were explored. Problem sets in which each solution strategy produces a unique solution pattern are depicted. Several experiments had been conducted using rules in this way with subjects from grade 4 through college. Problems were set in the context of concrete events which could be related, and subjects…

Findings from five related studies carried out in Tasmania, Australia in 1979-80 are summarized. The first study attempted to determine the memory capacity of a cross-sectional population of children aged 4-7, while the second study was designed to portray differences on a variety of mathematically related developmental tasks for the same…

The hypothesis for this study assumed that subjects who received a diagram representing the structural relationships of a story would be more likely to solve a new and analogous problem than subjects who received two analogs without a diagram. The 151 graduate students who acted as subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: one or…

An understanding-based approach to teaching arithmetic word problems is used in the Training Arithmetic Problem Solving Skills (TAPS) research project, for which four semantic schemas or problem representations have been revised and adopted: Combine, Compare, Change, and Vary. It is hypothesized that a good problem solver identifies the schema of…

This research was concerned with the clarification of the role that the external representation process (e.g. drawing) plays in children's solving of complex arithmetic problems. Fourteen children in the 10- to 12-year-old age range were asked to represent and solve five complex arithmetic problems (three with temporal organization of data, two…

Order Analysis is a multidimensional scaling (MDS) technique for determining order among items. This paper reviews articles by different authors describing various components of ordering theory. A common nomenclature is constructed to link together the various ideas and is applied to a fairly simple set of data. Topics discussed include a more…

Papers presented at this conference focus primarily on the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. Topics related to critical thinking include metacognition, curriculum development, and teaching strategies in foreign languages; teaching critical reading of literature to develop critical thinking skills; use of guided design in…

An overview is first given of some main theoretical frameworks underlying current European research in mathematical thinking, learning, and teaching. Together with the information-processing and the (neo)-Piagetian approaches, both well known in the United States, two other research paradigms can be distinguished: the action-oriented approach to…

Secondary prevention programs for aggressive children should be based on research about processes which mediate children's expression of aggressive behavior. The relative importance of perceived competence, self-esteem, and social problem solving processes was investigated in 20 aggressive and 18 non-aggressive fourth and fifth grade boys. Teacher…

Intervention to enhance Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS) skills has been shown to significantly reduce observable negative, impulsive and inhibited behaviors and increase positive qualities in young, low socioeconomic status (SES) children. An ICPS model for older children was implemented with 202 low SES fifth graders to test…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of using an adapted version of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) to increase problem solving activities of kindergarten students, and to determine the practical significance of using CPS as a method for increasing problem solving skills of kindergarten students. Data were collected from…

This report describes an investigation in England of some of the problems children experience with fractions. In particular, the restricted view that some children have of fractions is investigated. The methodology involved a large number of interviews with secondary school children (aged 12-14). The results of these interviews led to the design…