Data are reported for the classroom observational portion of a cross-sectional study conducted in Tasmania, Australia to examine the acquisition and development of addition and subtraction skills in young children. During the study, a group of students in grades l, 2, and 3 who differed in cognitive processing skills were observed during…

This issue contains abstracts and critical comments for published reports of research in mathematics education. The reports are concerned with: (1) relationships between class size, teaching practices, and student achievement; (2) sex differences related to attitudes; (3) comprehension of mathematical relationships expressed in graphs; (4) effect…

This investigation capitalizes upon the information processing models that depend upon measurement of latency of response to a mathematical problem and the decomposition of reaction time (RT). Simple two term addition problems were presented with possible solutions for true-false verification, and accuracy and RT to response were recorded. Total…

Suggests that children enter school with a great deal of informal intuitive knowledge of mathematics that can serve as the basis for developing much of the formal mathematics of the primary school curriculum. Describes a research-based model of children's thinking that teachers can use to interpret, transform, and reframe their informal or…

Presents a study of 87 second graders to demonstrate that achievement tests in primary mathematics emphasize pupil's lower-order thinking by comparing answers to interview questions from constructivist and traditionally instructed groups. Results indicated that constructivist instructed students demonstrated superior higher-order thinking on tasks…

Recent research suggests that many middle school students approach mathematical story problems with strategies that are not based on possible meanings for the operations, yielding success for one-step problems, but providing a weak background for approaching algebra story problems. This document reports the findings and the materials developed by…