In this study STEM activities created with the 5E learning model were applied to 4th grade primary school students and the effects of these activities on the students' mathematics problem solving-skills and attitudes towards mathematics were examined. A quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test control group was used in the study. The…

In 2024, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administered the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment to representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade students in the nation, states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Department of Defense schools, and 26 participating large urban…

Early detection of and relevant information on children's mathematical difficulties is important to initiate targeted teaching and intervention. This study investigated the extent to which strategy use in single-digit addition provides additional predictive information about 61 grade one children's (6-year-old) mathematical achievement 3 years…

Students' understanding of the meaning of the equal sign develops slowly over the primary grades. In addition to updating their representations of equations to recognize that the equal sign represents an equivalence relation rather than signaling an operation, students need to move beyond full computation to efficiently solve equivalence problems.…

This study investigated the relationship between primary school students' mathematics motivation and problem-solving skills in mathematics. A total of 429 students were selected through convenience sampling, using a relational survey model. Data were collected using the Mathematics Problem-solving Achievement Test and the Mathematics Course…

This study investigated the extent to which domain-general and domain-specific antecedents contributed to pre-algebra's initial level and growth rate among students who experience word-problem difficulty (WPD). We examined if such a profile differs for English-language learners (ELLs; n = 75) and non-ELLs (n = 55) with WPD. We assessed 130 U.S.…

In this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study we examined the effects of differentiated instruction (DI) in within-class ability groupings of 246 Montenegrin fourth-graders and their ability to solve algebraic equations. We assessed 2 parallel student groups at equal achievement levels to compare DI, in which teaching and work modes were…

The ability to recognize one's learning processes is important for learning mathematics as it helps learners to practice the thinking process of how each element works in solving mathematics problems. The K-W-D-L technique has emerged as a technique that could bring about metacognition in learning and it could be beneficial in elementary school…

Symbolic and situational mathematics are the two major representations of mathematical knowledge. Although previous literature has studied the relationship between the two from the perspective of teaching practice, learning effectiveness and behavioural performance, there is still a lack of empirical psychological research on cognitive mechanisms…

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a long-standing international assessment of mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth grades, collecting trend data every four years since 1995. Over 70 countries rely on TIMSS to monitor their education systems in a global context, benchmarking national curricula and…

In the present study, researchers used problem-posing instruction to examine elementary students' understanding of multiplication. Students in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (n = 24) from a rural school district participated in a semester-long study. The focus of this study was examining student solutions to two specific lessons with problems…

We previously (Gantt et al., 2023; Paoletti et al., 2021) identified items from the publicly released TIMSS 2011 assessments that had potential for students to employ covariational reasoning as a solution strategy. In this report, we explore the extent to which fourth-grade students' performance on such items in mathematics differed among 26…

Grades 4 and 8 students had shown slow but steady improvement in scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment from 1990 until 2013, but performance since then has been lower despite the introduction of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) in the early 2010s. This study examined student…

A Title I elementary school in New York City faced a challenge in supporting students in Grade 3 to Grade 5 who did not meet state proficiency standards in mathematics. The student body of approximately 300 was 80% Black and Brown students, with 40% of students identified as English language learners or students with disabilities. The assistant…

A solid foundation in mathematics is beneficial not only for individuals' concurrent and later academic achievement, but also for future career success and financial stability. Rational number knowledge plays a pivotal role in mathematical success, yet it is often regarded as a challenging area to grasp comprehensively. The dissertation aims to…