This paper aims to revisit and clarify the term problem context and to develop a theoretical classification of the construct of levels of context use (LCU) to analyse how the context of a problem is used to formulate a problem in mathematical terms and to interpret the answer in relation to the context of a given problem. Two criteria and six…

Complex multistep problem exercises are one way to enhance engineering students' learning of electromagnetics (EM). This study investigates whether exposure to complex problem exercises during an introductory EM course improves students' conceptual and procedural knowledge. The performance in complex problem exercises is compared to prior success…

In early 2008 researchers from the University of Melbourne's "New Technologies for Teaching Mathematics" project created a lesson for the Year 10 students at their Victorian research schools. Two important goals of secondary school mathematics education are to build students' conceptual knowledge and to teach students to think…

Suggestions are given for activities to use to introduce common and decimal fractions. Models are used initially and symbols are introduced slowly. Decimals are related to common fractions. (MP)

Groups trained to compare the whole and subset improved in cue identification from negative instances; performance in the stimulus exposure group declined. (Authors)

This paper describes a proportional reasoning problem set within a real-life context and a complete analysis of one small group discussion of this problem over the course of a 90-minute block. The seventh-grade students' discourse is described to provide insights into typical mathematical interpretations of this problem, as well as some…

Instructional materials used in two pilot studies are presented. Appendix A contains components of the problem-solving bulletin board. Eighteen problems are stated along with suggestions for solving each problem. Problems 1-10 contain questions extending the original problem. Teacher answer sheets are given for problems 4-18. Appendix B contains…

Describes an exploratory investigation of how children reacted to problems with missing, surplus or contradictory data. It was found that the majority of children gave unsatisfactory answers to such problems. (PK)

Many elementary teachers who have taught time-telling skills would propose that the mathematical skills associated with time-telling are among the most difficult for young students to learn. This booklet was developed to relate some of the concepts of time to physical models, providing methods for isolating specific time-telling concepts within a…

A two-year investigation into the development of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for the improvement of undergraduate training in statistics was undertaken. The first year was largely devoted to designing PLANIT (Programming LANguage for Interactive Teaching) which reduces, or completely eliminates, the need an author of CAI lessons would…

Investigates the development of concepts and processes associated with computational estimation. Twelve students at each of grades three, five, seven, and nine were interviewed. The older children understood better than the younger children what was asked but were uncomfortable with estimation processes and outcomes. (Author/YP)

Describes seven number-sense skills for elementary and middle school grades. Provides eight short stories for grades three through eight designed to develop students' number-sense skills in which students replace missing data so that the story makes sense. (MDH)

Presents five activities to help students construct meaning for multiplying fractions through real-world problem contexts, physical or pictorial models, the recognition of patterns, and the use of calculators. In the context of a garden plot, worksheets examine various aspects of parts of plots, patterns in plots, and a maximization problem.…