This study investigated the role of the bar model method, a significant aspect of the Singapore mathematics curriculum, in the remediation of seventh-grade students' errors on algebra word problems. To accomplish this purpose, we first assessed students' errors on a written test involving algebra problems and identified ten students based on the…

This paper describes a study for teaching number system in a computer arithmetic course and addresses the existing gap in the current course by focusing on the characteristics of applications. A redundant residue number system (RRNS) is an efficient and innovative number system that inherits the interesting properties of both residue number system…

One of the fundamental topics taught in the microeconomics class is minimizing economic costs. It includes understanding the concept of derivatives and applying them. However, most of the first-year undergraduate students find calculus difficult to understand, which also results in poor knowledge of optimization. We use the method based on the…

The adverse influence of the presence of an irrelevant number and language inconsistency in a word problem is well known. Our study focused on the combination of these two variables and on the position of the irrelevant number in the word problem for Grade 6 pupils. The study has a mixed design. Item Response Theory was used to make equally able…

Introducing the distributivity property of multiplication over addition is a well-known challenge in mathematics education, especially in primary school. As a contribution, this paper presents the results of a cycle of design research that focuses on the design, implementation and evaluation of a modelling activity in which 2nd-grade students are…

This paper uses a post-qualitative philosophical perspective to find new ways of understanding teaching and learning. The paper presents a series of examples that were used in a longitudinal study, with the aim of creating variation patterns that would make it possible for students to discern the use of the four basic arithmetic operations in…

The modelling approach to teaching and learning mathematics emphasizes the usefulness of mathematics in the real-world. The aim of the current study is to examine whether engagement in modelling activities provides learners an opportunity to expand their knowledge of a specific concept -- the "average" concept. Our data include…

Understanding the solution of a problem may require the reader to have background knowledge on the subject. For instance, finding an integer which, when divided by a nonzero integer leaves a remainder; but when divided by another nonzero integer may leave a different remainder. To find a smallest positive integer or a set of integers following the…

We study here an aspect of an infinite set "P" of multivariate polynomials, the elements of which are associated with the arithmetic-geometric-mean inequality. In particular, we show in this article that there exist infinite subsets of probability "P" for which every element may be expressed as a finite sum of squares of real…

An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the use of magic activities in a math course for prospective middle-school math teachers. This research report focuses on a lesson using two versions of math magic: (1) the "5-4-3-2-1-½ Magic" involves having students choose a secret number and apply six arithmetic operations in sequence…

This paper analyses the strategies used by pre-service primary school teachers for solving simple addition problems involving negative numbers. The findings reveal six different strategies that depend on the difficulty of the problem and, in particular, on the unknown quantity. We note that students use negative numbers in those problems they find…

This study investigated 11 pre-service middle school teachers' solution strategies for exploring their knowledge of fraction division interpretations. Each participant solved six fraction division problems. The problems were organized into two sets: symbolic problems (involving numbers only) and contextual problems (involving measurement…

This paper presents the results of an experimental teaching carried out on 12-year-old students. An open-ended task was given to them and they had not been taught the algorithmic process leading to the solution. The formal solution to the problem refers to a system of two linear equations with two unknown quantities. In this mathematical activity,…

We interviewed 40 students each in grades 7 and 11 to investigate their integer-related reasoning. In one task, the students were asked to write and interpret equations related to a story problem about borrowing money from a friend. All the students solved the story problem correctly. However, they reasoned about the problem in different ways.…

This article presents different approaches to a problem, dubbed by the author as "the consecutive pages problem". The aim of this teaching-oriented article is to promote the teaching of abstract concepts in mathematics, by selecting a challenging amusement problem and then presenting various solutions in such a way that it can engage the attention…