This study elaborates on the pivotal roles of mathematical and statistical models in data-driven predictions in an integrated STEM context using the case of Year 4 students: (?) "a descriptive means" to describe the features of trends and variability of data and (?) "an explanatory means" to explain causal relationships behind…

This article reports on the performance of the research funding system of 61 Japanese national universities, specifically the Japanese Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (GASR) system. The competitive Japanese research funding system is quantitatively investigated and measured, focusing on the GASR fund and its relationship with the Japanese…

In classroom management, it is well-known that students' mental states are strongly related to classroom conditions. There are many ways to describe human behavior in mathematical modeling in sociology. In social science, a model to describe human behavior has been developed by an analogy with the ferromagnetic spin model in statistical physics.…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) identifies the strategic use of appropriate tools as one of the mathematical practices and emphasizes the use of pictures and diagrams as reasoning tools. Starting with the early elementary grades, CCSSM discusses students' solving of problems "by drawing." In later…

This article examines how visual representations may mediate the teaching and learning of mathematics over time in Japanese elementary classrooms. Using the Zone of Proximal Development Mathematical Learning Model (Murata & Fuson, 2006; Fuson & Murata, 2007), the process of mediation is explicated. The tape diagram, a central visual…

The theme of the 38th meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME 38) and the 36th meeting of the North American Chapter of the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA 36) was "Mathematics Education at the Edge." Academically, the theme provides opportunities to highlight and examine…

Employs a fixed-cost quadratic function to estimate multiple-output cost functions for 94 private universities in Japan for 1991. Outputs were undergraduate teaching, graduate teaching, and research. Results indicate ray economies of scale and both global and product-specific economies of scope. Product-specific economies of scale are shown for…

Derives two sufficient conditions for a finitely generated Lie algebra to have the nilpotent hypercenter. Presents a relatively large class of generalized soluble Lie algebras. Proves that if a finitely generated Lie algebra has a nilpotent maximal subalgebra, the Fitting radical is nilpotent. (DDR)

Nowadays, mathematics has come to be increasingly put into practical use in various fields in society. However, Japanese students dislike mathematics. The purpose of this study is to consider the significance of teaching modelling. In this paper, I take up "Fuzzy modelling" as teaching material for senior high school students. As a…

Research related to the multiple choice test item is reported, as it is conducted by educational technologists in Japan. Sato's number of hypothetical equivalent alternatives is introduced. The based idea behind this index is that the expected uncertainty of the m events, or alternatives, be large and the number of hypothetical, equivalent…

Algebra is no longer just for college-bound students. After a widespread push by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and teachers across the country, algebra is now a required part of most curricula. However, students' standardized test scores are not at the level they should be. NCTM's seventieth yearbook takes a look at the…

Reviews trends in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in Japan, focusing on authoring languages and mathematical model-based courseware development. The scale of personal computer use and types of courseware used in elementary and junior high schools is described, and an example of an intelligent CAI system is given. (Author/LRW)

The main purposes of the seminar were to examine the present status of school mathematics problem solving; to explore classroom practice and what is known about research; to compare the situations appearing in textbook word problems; and to make plans for cross-cultural research in both countries. A paper from each country was presented during the…

A method was developed using a deck of cards to teach Japanese fifth graders to calculate the area of a parallelogram. Investigations with 59 male and 45 female students demonstrate the superiority of the method to that previously used in terms of recall at one week. (SLD)

This paper reports on five related studies on upper elementary school students' beliefs about the role of real-world knowledge in solving mathematical word problems, and on possibilities of overcoming their unrealistic mathematical modeling. Findings from the first study of 75 Belgian fifth-grade students showed that as a consequence of current…