The purpose of this literature review is to explicate the facets of mathematical problem solving taxonomies in relation to mathematical modeling. Subsequently, components and learning benefits of mathematical modeling are discussed. Examples of mathematical problems are embedded in the discussion and pragmatic applications to mathematical…

The aim of this study was to examine how fifth grade students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills can be developed using practices based on Newman and Weglage's (1993. Five standarts for authentic instruction. "Educational Leadership," 50(7), 8-12) authentic learning standards ("high-order thinking," "depth of…

This study aims to examine mathematics teachers' interpretations of students' thinking within the scope of teaching experiments as a professional development activity. The method used in this study is a teaching experiment. The participants are 3 elementary school mathematics teachers. The teaching experiment consists of 5 teaching episodes and…

Research in psychology and in mathematics education has documented the ubiquity of "intuition traps" -- tasks that elicit non-normative responses from most people. Researchers in cognitive psychology often view these responses negatively, as a sign of irrational behaviour. Others, notably mathematics educators, view them as necessary…

The current study examines whether the engagement of mathematics teachers in modelling activities and subsequent changes in their conceptions about these activities affect their beliefs about mathematics. The sample comprised 52 mathematics teachers working in small groups in four modelling activities. The data were collected from teachers'…

Individuals and societies that can use mathematics effectively in this period of rapid changes will have a voice on increasing the opportunities and potentials which can shape their future. This has brought affective characteristics, such as self-efficacy, that affect mathematics achievement into focus of the research. Teacher efficacy refers to…

The purpose of this study is to define teacher views about the difficulties in learning and teaching middle school statistics subjects. To serve this aim, a number of interviews were conducted with 10 middle school maths teachers in 2011-2012 school year in the province of Trabzon. Of the qualitative descriptive research methods, the…

Symmetry is an important mathematical concept that plays an extremely important role as a problem solving technique. Presents examples of problems from several branches of mathematics that can be solved using different types of symmetry. Discusses teachers' attitudes and beliefs regarding the use of symmetry in the solutions of these problems.…

The author shows how the teaching of mathematics may be adapted so that it is "humanized." It is asserted that the standard mathematics program "...appeals to the intellect, but attaches no value to other human qualities such as emotions and ethical character." (MP)

This study deals with the demand of a task. A theoretical background shows the difficulty of applying the idea of demand (as established in the literature) to the data. This has been confirmed in the preliminary study of this paper, which deals with the analysis of university examinations. Some factors that affect the demand of a task have been…