In this paper, the application of fuzzy logic in mathematical education is viewed from the perspective of pre- school education. The aim of the paper is to give a brief overview of examples from the literature related to fuzzy logic and to point out the presence of fuzzy linguistic variables in the everyday life of a preschool child, as well as…

This paper explores the public awareness that there presently exists a crisis in mathematics education and a "dumbing down" of the curriculum, examines the nature of this crisis and argues that there has been a lowering of cultural, pedagogical and cognitive expectations with respect to most learners. The notion of cognitive development in…

A theory that there is a correspondence between Piagetian conservation operations and groups of symmetry transformations, and that these symmetry transformations may be used in explaining human problem solving behaviors, is developed in this paper. Current research in artificial intelligence is briefly reviewed, then details of the symmetry…

For meaningful learning of mathematics, a learning set is required which demands that all things accepted as true should be demonstrable in terms of a paradigm appropriate to the child's cognitive development: preparatory, concrete-particular, concrete-general, formal-abstract. Future teachers should experience all paradigms to become aware that…

Arguing that the teaching of stochastic processes should reflect the experience and reality of the student, the author urges concentration on fundamental ideas. The development of intuition should be encouraged, and to this end continuity in teaching and a spiralled curriculum are important. (SD)

The author interprets several mathematical concepts as groupings using Piaget's definition. He also discusses (briefly) the implications for primary education. (SD)

Discusses the nature of tasks used to elicit the development of such systems by middle school students. Analyzes mathematical reasoning development of students across tasks and the diversity of thinking patterns identified on problem tasks. Discusses student reasoning about the relationships between and among quantities and their application in…

A study documented 10 college students' understanding of the limit concept and the factors affecting changes in that understanding. Encouragement by the researchers for the students to change their common informal models of limit to more formal conceptions were met with extreme resistance. (Author/JJK)

Through a mathematical analysis, Piaget's grouping concept can be formally interpreted as being a hybrid between the mathematical concepts of a group and a lattice. Some relevant pedagogical models are presented. Activities with Cuisenaire Rods, Dienes Blocks, and Papy's Minicomputer are shown to take place in groupings. (LS)

How computers have affected diagnosis in mathematics is discussed. A distinction is made between errors and mistakes, followed by consideration of computers as a diagnostic tool. The development of algorithms to diagnose errors and of models of student performance is described. (MNS)

Concerns development of children's understanding of data and classification. Studies three intact classrooms worked over several sessions to categorize drawings made by children and progressively mathematize their categorization rules. Concludes that by engaging with data characterized by prototypic rather than crisp membership values, students…

This book represents a compilation of the views and ideas of the late Hans Freudenthal, representing his last major contribution to the field of mathematics education. Rather than a presentation of new views, Freudenthal selected and streamlined old ideas, many gathered from his lectures in China, and formed a review of questions and issues in…