Experimental research on perception and cognition has shown that inherent and manipulated visual features of mathematics problems impact individuals' problem-solving behavior and performance. In a recent study, we manipulated the spacing between symbols in arithmetic expressions to examine its effect on 174 undergraduate students' arithmetic…

More than 50 years ago, Bongard introduced 100 visual concept learning problems as a challenge for artificial vision systems. These problems are now known as Bongard problems. Although they are well known in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, only very little progress has been made toward building systems that can solve a substantial…

The aim of this study was to investigate individual differences in mathematical problem-solving among 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 328; n[subscript 3-year-olds] = 115, n[subscript 4-year-olds] = 167, n[subscript 5-year-olds] = 46). First, we examined the extent to which children in this age group were able to solve open and closed non-routine…

In this study, the visual estimation skills of fourth grade elementary school students based on their mathematical thinking processes were investigated. The research questions focus on understanding how students' mathematical thinking processes influence their visual estimation skills. A total of 445 students participated in the study. The…

Mathematics is an essential subject in schools, helping develop cognitive skills such as critical analysis, logical reasoning, and problem-solving. However, academic achievement in mathematics often declines, with some students having difficulty understanding mathematical ideas. Many factors influence mathematics achievement, including students'…

In light of the known visuoperceptual strengths and altered language skills in autism, we investigated the impact of problem content (semantic/visuospatial) combined with complexity and presence of lures on fluid reasoning in 43 autistic and 41 typical children (6-13 years old). Increased complexity and presence of lures diminished performance,…

Children's arithmetic performance is dependent on the arithmetic task format, but little is known about how domain-specific and domain-general abilities contribute to solving diverse arithmetic problems. In this study, 145 Italian typically developing children between the ages of five and six, who have not yet received formal schooling, were…

This study investigates middle school students' reasoning about parallelism and perpendicularity of two line segments. Data were collected from 83 middle school students through an identification task consisting of various examples and non-examples of the parallelism and perpendicularity of two line segments. One-to-one interviews were also…

This study investigated how visual attention differed between students who hold scientific knowledge and those who have misconceptions. We analyzed visual fixations of 98 middle students on problems containing information relevant to scientific knowledge and common misconceptions. It showed that students who acquired scientific concepts paid more…

Several working memory processes have been hypothesized to influence different arithmetic operations. Working memory has been compartmentalized into a number of different sub-processes, such as phonological memory and visuospatial memory that are believed to have unique contributions to the performance of two distinct arithmetic operations:…

Successful problem solving begins with constructing mental problem representations and the identification of problem characteristics to clarify the solution. The purpose of the current study is to examine the design principles of learning supports promoting mental problem representation in the math problem solving setting. We investigated the…

Background: The ability to translate concrete manipulatives into abstract mathematical formulas can aid in the solving of mathematical word problems among students, and metacognitive prompts play a significant role in enhancing this process. Aims: Based on the concept of semantic congruence, we explored the effects of metacognitive prompts and…

Spatial thinking permeates much of our lives and is an asset when solving problems involving well-structured visual information or imagining solutions in physical or digital space. However, an estimated three million US school children have spatial talents that go unrecognized because of the tools commonly used for identification of academic…

Background: A key aspect of STEM learning is the use of visual representations for problem solving. To successfully use visuals, students need to make sense of how they show concepts and to fluently perceive domain-relevant information in them. Adding support for sense making and perceptual fluency to problem-solving activities enhances students'…

Students and professionals from a variety of domains have demonstrated different approaches to problem solving. These two populations have displayed differences when using and perceiving multiple representations of problem-solving tools. In the domain of transportation engineering, this difference has yet to be evaluated in detail. This study…