This article reports on an empirical study that investigates the way students' performance in solving arithmetical tasks may be related to their performance in solving algebraic tasks. The sample consisted of 203 Grade 6 students. The arithmetical tasks involved arithmetical expressions with known quantities, whereas the algebraic tasks involved…

Recent research has highlighted the role of functional relationships in introducing elementary school students to algebraic thinking. This functional approach is here considered to study essential components of algebraic thinking such as generalization and its representation, as well as the strategies used by students and their connection with…

Previous research has highlighted the importance of social relationships in mathematical group work while working on modelling activities. This study analyses the interaction of sixth-grade students in Primary Education (11 to 12 years old) carrying out a modelling task in groups with a Fermi problem used as the modelling activity. The focus of…

The present study aimed to examine children's and adults' performance and strategies in volume estimations. Three tasks were designed and presented to 40 adults and 40 6th grade children who were asked to estimate: (a) the number of unit measures (bricks/rice spoons) that may be put in a container, (b) the quantity of bricks/rice, between two…

Textbooks are one of the main resources for teaching and learning mathematics. This study examines the presentation of angle topics in 4th-grade mathematics textbooks in Indonesia and Singapore. The analysis focused on the general characteristics of the textbook and the nature of the mathematical tasks presented. The results showed that Indonesian…

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have examined the association between mathematical abilities and executive functions (EFs). However, it remains unknown via which mechanisms' mathematical performance is associated with EFs. The current study examined the associations of overall task proficiency, strategy selection, and strategy…

This research explores the impact of ethno-RME on students' thinking processes in solving decimal number operations in Tugu Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The study involved 32 grade 4 students and used three data collection techniques: task provision, cognitive interviews, and documentation. The qualitative data was analyzed using cross-sectional data…

This article provides an analysis of a data set coming from a two-phase qualitative study that focused on fostering primary students' abstraction of interrelations among quadrilaterals (squares, rectangles, parallelograms, rhombuses, trapezoids). The pilot study consisted of work with eight primary students operating at van Hiele level 2 (e.g.,…

This study presents the results of a series of design experiments that aimed to engage twelve fourth-grade students in mathematical activity exploring the volume of right prisms and cylinders as a dynamic sweep of a surface through a height, an approach that is referred to as Dynamic Measurement for Volume (DYME-V). This article describes this…

Increasing evidence suggests that success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is not only dependent upon one's actual STEM-relevant abilities but also upon one's STEM-relevant attitudes--in particular, math and spatial attitudes. Here, we examine whether simply mentioning the math or spatial relevance of a task affects…

Problems presented in mathematics classrooms often focus on routine tasks with students practicing mathematical techniques demonstrated by the teacher. However, this does not reflect the problem-solving process in the real world, and students often find it difficult to connect school mathematics with authentic contexts. This paper discusses…

This study investigates sixth-grade students' explorations of tessellations with Scratch through the mathematical aesthetics. For this purpose, the study analyzed the students' explorations by considering the roles of mathematical aesthetics identified by Sinclair (2004): generative, evaluative, and motivational role. Six middle-school students…

Creativity is not only for gifted students, but also for regular ones. This case study was aimed to analyze the appropriateness of tasks and the elaboration of multiple solutions to occasion fourth-graders' mathematical creative thinking through a documentary multiple-solution counting task in a figurative setting. The data came from the written…

Employing a statistical modeling inspired pedagogy is becoming a widespread practice in the statistics education community. Many have incorporated the practice of formulating conjectures in their modeling-enhanced educational designs and have reported on its benefits. We further elucidate the mechanism through which students' conjecturing may be…

Currently mathematics difficulties in schools are a major problem due to several factors. Some research suggest that mathematics teaching-learning methodology could be one of the causes. As a result, alternative teaching methods to the traditional approach (ciphers-based closed algorithm [CBC]) have emerged, such as numbers-based open algorithm…