We present the findings of a study on prospective elementary teachers' proportional reasoning. After describing some of the teachers' performance in solving multiplicative structure problems that involve ratios and relations of direct proportionality between quantities, we were able to establish classifications of their answers according to…

Children's (n=70) solution strategies to a variety of multiplication and division word problems were analyzed to determine performance levels and strategies used. Solution strategies were classified at three levels: direct modeling with counting; no direct modeling with counting, additive, or subtractive strategies; and use of known derived facts.…

Children begin school with the ability to use their informal and implicit conceptual knowledge to guide their problem solving, but shift to the use of superficial strategies in their attempts to solve word problems as they progress through school. This paper describes a study designed to investigate the effects of an instructional sequence that…