Mathematics curricula have traditionally focused on content knowledge, often in the form of a scope and sequence of increasingly difficult mathematics. The importance of using and applying mathematics is recognised in the current Australian Curriculum Mathematics (AC: M) as 'proficiencies' that are intended to be integrated with the content. There…

This article examines the discrepancy between the ideology of inclusive education and the national education policy in the Finnish comprehensive school education. The study covers twenty years and is based on observations that indicate that the change in comprehensive school education, grounded in inclusive education ideals, has been slow. This…

This article offers a description of how empirical experiences through the use of procedural knowledge can serve as the stage for the development of hypothetical concepts using the learning cycle, an inquiry teaching and learning method with a long history in science education. The learning cycle brings a unique epistemology by way of using…

The purpose of mathematics competitions, and in our case the South African Mathematics Olympiad (SAMO), is to promote problem solving skills and strategies, to generate interest and enthusiasm for mathematics and to identify the most talented mathematical minds. SAMO is organised in two divisions--a junior and a senior division--over three rounds.…

Using research findings and statistics to support a policy argument often leads to misinterpretations and exaggerations of public school performance. Two experts illustrate this point by discussing examples of distorted high school drop-out rates, student performance on standardized tests, and international comparisons of U.S. and Japanese…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered the selected supplemental mathematics exercises to 13-year-old students during October and November 1975 and to 17-year-old students during March and April 1976. This assessment represents a specially modified supplement to 1972-73 full-scale mathematics assessment and was…

The dangers of equating "statistical significance" with "real world" significance are summarized. When a finding is said to have "statistical significance," it means only that the same results would be likely to occur again if the study were repeated, not that the finding has any true personal or societal importance. (VW)

Presents an educational game on probability that can be the starting point for an open-ended statistical project. (ASK)

Analyzes the responses of pre- and in-service teachers (N=136) to a series of graded questions about average. Presents information in graphical form requiring respondents to compare datasets induced responses in iconic and concrete symbolic modes, demonstrating multimodal functioning. (Author/ASK)

Explores the development of understanding of the concept of average with students from grades 3 to 9 through interviews. Observed six levels of response based on an hierarchical model of cognitive functioning. Documents usage of ideas associated with the three standard measures of central tendency and representation as strategies for problem…

A case is made for a comprehensive curriculum that includes strong competencies with not only number ideas and computation, but also with other mathematical topics such as geometry, statistics, probability, and estimation. (MP)

This book contains a set of versatile enrichment exercises that cover a very broad range of mathematical topics and applications in algebra from the Moebius strip to the googol. Several criteria have been used in developing the activities and selecting the topics that are included. All of them bear heavily and equally on concerns for curriculum…

Presents activity pages containing world population data for students to use to predict future population figures and Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to track changes in the costs of the goods. Includes answer key. (KHR)

Describes an activity that engages pupils in the whole statistical process from collecting data to interpreting the results. Discusses the importance of these activities in developing knowledge, skills, understanding, and ability in problem solving. (Author/ASK)

The author gives a variety of literary questions and exercises that can be used to develop and test students' interpretation of the mean, median, and mode and their understanding of the usefulness and limitations of each. (MN)