This study seeks to analyse the awareness of the pre-service teachers on the counting methods, systems and tools used in the prehistoric method and the Ancient period and to examine the distribution of this awareness by gender. A total of 42 sophomore-level students studying at a university in the Western Black Sea region, Turkey, participated in…

The metaphor of the mental number line accounts for numerous empirical effects of spatial-numerical associations. In the present study, we aimed at investigating directional spatial-numerical associations reflected by SNARC-like digit-direction and sign-direction congruency effects as well as the sign-digit compatibility effect when 6th graders…

This investigation examined the degree to which prospective elementary teachers had developed a meaningful and conceptual understanding of what integers are and explored their development of models for multiplication with integers that are related to everyday activities. Additionally, this study explored how these understandings informed…

This paper outlines a framework to explain the early development of place-value understanding based on an analysis of data from 84 five- to seven-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The children were assessed individually on number knowledge tasks (recalled facts, subitizing, counting, place-value understanding) and…

A formative pilot study of a fractions intervention was conducted to address the intervention's potential for improving fifth-grade struggling students' knowledge of fractions, and to identify any logistical or instructional design issues, before scaling up for a randomized control trial. In the first section, we provide details of the formative…

We examined relations between symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude representations, between whole number and fraction representations, and between these representations and overall mathematics achievement in fifth graders. Fraction and whole number symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude understandings were measured using both…

This study was situated in a semester-long classroom teaching experiment examining prospective teachers' understanding of number concepts and operations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the learning goals, tasks, and tools used to cultivate prospective teachers' understanding of addition and subtraction with whole numbers. Research…

The aim of this study is to determine the 7th grade students' achievements in mathematical patterns presented by figures, tables, number sequences, and word problems. This research is a situation determination study where quantitative methodology is used. The sample of the study consisted of 47 female and 50 male students, totally 97 students from…

Multiplicative thinking has been widely accepted as a critically important "big idea" of mathematics and one which underpins much mathematical understanding beyond the primary years of schooling. It is therefore of importance to consider the capacity of children to think multiplicatively but also to consider the capacity of their…

Number and operations serve as the "cornerstone" of the K-12 mathematics curriculum in many countries. Solving problems in the mathematical domains of algebra, geometry, measurement, and statistics is often closely connected to student knowledge of number and operation (Griffin, 2005). Although considerable knowledge exists regarding the…

In the present research, we evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-year professional development program in mathematics for elementary teachers. Each year the program focused on a different domain of mathematics. We found the program increased teachers' knowledge of (a) number and operations, (b) measurement and geometry, and (c) probability and…

In this paper we report on five Grade 6 students' responses to a proportional reasoning task. We conducted pair interviews within a longitudinal study focused on extending a hypothetical learning trajectory for length measurement. Results suggest that there exists a link between children's level of conceptual and procedural knowledge for length…

In this article Jessica Hunt explores the use of clinical interviews to gain a deep understanding of students' knowledge. Examples of clinical interviews are provided and advice for planning, giving and interpreting the results of interviews is also included.

The focus of the present synthesis reflects the research on programs, practices, and policies intended to improve mathematics outcomes funded through the Institute of Education Sciences' (IES's) National Center for Education Research (NCER) and National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). The authors were asked to review those published…

This article first describes some of the basic skills and knowledge that a solid elementary school mathematics foundation requires. It then elaborates on several points germane to these practices. These are then followed with a discussion and conclude with final comments and suggestions for future research. The article sets out the five…