A challenging problem in some developing countries such as Nigeria is inadequate training of students in effective problem solving using the core concepts of their disciplines. Related to this is a disconnection between their learning and socio-economic development agenda of a country. These problems are more vivid in statistical education which…

Teaching how to solve problems--from solving simple equations to solving difficult competition tasks--has been one of the greatest challenges for mathematics education for many years. Trying to find an effective method is an important educational task. Among others, the question arises as to whether a method in which students help each other might…

This research study examines preservice teachers' experiences of learning through game design. In particular, we investigate how their perceptions of digital games have evolved through the process of designing and building their own educational games. We are also concerned with the knowledge and reasoning skills that preservice teachers…

Although test scores from similar tests in multiple choice and constructed response formats are highly correlated, equivalence in rankings may mask differences in substantive strategy use. The author used an experimental design and participant think-alouds to explore cognitive processes in mathematical problem solving among undergraduate examinees…

The improvement of mathematics teaching and learning is a complicated undertaking. It relies on teacher understanding of math curriculum in addition to awareness of how children acquire mathematics concepts. It also depends on teachers' abilities to translate these understandings into learning tasks and instructional routines, as well as the…

Our study was enacted in university mathematics education classes in the USA with preservice teachers (PSTs). This research focused on PSTs' interview responses that were used to assess their understanding of balance when challenged with tasks involving virtual manipulatives. Siegler's rules were used in analyzing PSTs' responses to…

Students with learning disabilities are most typically characterized as struggling readers (i.e., 80-90% of students are identified on the basis of reading failure; LD OnLine, 2008 Lerner, 1989; Lyon, Fletcher, Shaywitz, Torgesen, Wood, et al., 2001); however, as many as 50% of students with learning disabilities have IEP goals in the area of…

This paper analyses pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' responses to a hypothetical situation concerning a student's struggle to determine the area of an irregular hexagon. The analysis focuses on individuals' Knowledge at the Mathematical Horizon, as it relates to philosophical notions of inner and outer horizons. Specifically, the paper…

While previous work in the domain of proportional reasoning has primarily focused on the coordination of integer quantities, this study investigates how students coordinate fractional quantities. Fine-grained analysis of two seventh graders' responses to a set of systematically designed proportional tasks, shows how their knowledge of…

This study used a multiple probe across participants design to examine the effects of concrete-representational-abstract sequence of instruction on solving equations using inverse operations with high school students with mild intellectual disability. Results demonstrated a functional relation between the Abstract sequence of instruction and…

We explored transformations that teachers made to modify geometry proof problems into investigation problems and analyzed how these transformations differ in teachers who use a dynamic geometry environment (DGE) in their classes and those who do not. We devised a framework for the analysis of problem transformations and types of teacher-generated…

Although official curriculum documents make cursory mention of the need for problem posing in school mathematics, problem posing rarely becomes part of the implemented or assessed curriculum. This paper provides examples of how problem posing can be made an integral part of mathematics teacher education programs. It is argued that such programs…

Effort to determine teachers' effects on students has been continuously made with national data. However, paucity of research has been conducted on how teachers' instructional strategies impact on student learning with national data, although instructional theories suggest a direct relationship between instructional strategies and learning…

Middle school students' mathematical understanding benefits from connecting mathematics to other content areas in the curriculum. This month's activity explores the issue of the scarcity of freshwater, a natural resource (activity sheets are included). This activity concentrates on the critical areas mentioned in the Common Core State…

The aim of this study was to analyse the role of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory (WM) and language skills (vocabulary, listening comprehension) in predicting preschool and kindergarten-aged children's ability to solve mathematical word problems presented orally. The participants were 116 Finnish-speaking children aged 4-7?years. The…