The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the worst crisis the world has faced, so far, in this new century. We haven't seen a pandemic like this since the "1918 Flu" at the beginning of the last century, and, as of this writing, there appears to be no end in sight. What those of us who're focused on quantitative methods have noticed, in…

This article describes a hands-on geometric tiling art activity used in two third-grade classes and four fifth-grade classes in a rural public elementary school with class sizes of around 20 students each. The lesson investigates concepts in geometry, number sense, and probability. Examples of student work and takeaways for other teachers…

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that many countries have failed to provide the general population with the cognitive tools to thoroughly understand and cope with a global health crisis. While scientists and leaders worldwide have struggled to discover ways to contain the spread of the virus, this difficult task has become overwhelming due to the…

Previous research has shown that early numerical abilities are predictive of later mathematical achievement. In line with these previous studies, we investigated whether early numerical abilities are also associated with later probabilistic reasoning abilities. In the present study, we examined children's numerical abilities in the second grade of…

A strong foundation in early number concepts is crucial for students' future success in statistics. Despite its importance in statistics, many first-year students struggle to comprehend the normal distribution due to a lack of basic number sense. Students get confused about the order and magnitude of negative z-scores on a standard normal curve or…

This paper describes the development and efficacy of an online tool for assessing the numeracy of undergraduate students. The tool was designed to be easy to administer, provide immediate feedback to students on whether they had the required level of numeracy, and to be consistent with other measures of adult numeracy. When used with students…

We tested predictions of fuzzy-trace theory that qualitative health status and gist representations (ordinal and categorical) of risks contribute to willingness to start medications, beyond effects of objective risk, emotion (worry), and numeracy. Adults in two experiments were given hypothetical scenarios based on actual medications, varying…

The purpose of this study is to describe Mathematical Literacy (ML) of Prospective Elementary School Teachers with attention to aspects of mathematical skills and gender. The type of research is qualitative with the research design of Case Study. Respondents are assigned 12 Prospective Elementary School Teachers, consisting of 6 men and 6 women.…

Using the 2012 PIAAC data, our analysis confirms that there are significantly higher earnings and employment returns to "both" increasing levels of formally recognised education, and to increasing levels of numeracy, literacy and information and communication technologies (ICT) skills proficiencies controlling for the level of education.…

Working memory capacities are associated with mathematical development. Many studies have tried to improve working memory abilities through training. Furthermore, the central executive has been shown to be the component of working memory, which is the most strongly related to numerical and arithmetical skills. Therefore, we developed a training…

The ability to use numerical information in different contexts is a major goal of mathematics education. In health risk communication, outcomes of a medical condition are frequently expressed in probabilities. Difficulties to accurately represent probability information can result in unfavourable medical decisions. To support individuals with…

Existing research shows that higher cognitive skills, such as literacy and numeracy, are associated with greater labour force participation and higher earnings, as well as a positive relationship with self-reported health status. However, this research has not focused specifically on the Aboriginal population in Canada. This article examines the…

A critical numeracy examination of Benford's Law suggests that our understanding of the integers is faulty. We think of them as equally likely to turn up as the first digit of a random real world number. For many real world data sets this is not true. In many cases, ranging from eBay auction prices to six digit numbers in Google to the…

This paper presents discussions on stochastic education in early childhood, based on two doctoral research projects carried out with groups of preschool teachers from public schools in the Brazilian cities of Suzano and São Paulo who were participating in a continuing education program. The objective is to reflect on the analysis of two didactic…

Mathematical Literacy (ML) is a relatively new school subject that learners study in the final 3 years of high school and is examined as a matric subject. An investigation of a 2009 provincial examination written by matric pupils was conducted on both the curriculum elements of the test and learner performance. In this study we supplement the…