Research on routine problem solving (e.g. the typical "story" problem) was reviewed to facilitate the identification and dissemination of promising practices for teaching routine problem solving, and to provide suggestions and directions for further research in the area. Promising teaching practices which were identified included giving attention…

This guide provides material for teaching problems with rate and ratio calculations. There has been a traditional and worsening shortfall of student performance on rate and ratio problems which do not apply to other components of the mathematics program. The major problems found with traditional curriculum approaches are: (1) rate and ratio…

This document views mathematics instruction as an area that was developed to deal with experiences of the real world, and that needs to change in response to the realities of today's world. To insure the continued teaching of significant ideas and skills, certain traditional topics must be deleted from the curriculum and new ones added. Teaching…

Fourteen research reports related to mathematics education are abstracted and analyzed. Two of the reports deal with teacher education, two with problem solving, three with basic operations, and one each with learning disabled students, rational numbers, proportional reasoning, counting, teacher effectiveness, group cooperation on mathematical…

Describes an ongoing project involving 23 second grade teachers who are teaching all mathematics, including computation, through small-group problem solving and whole class discussion. The authors suggest that teachers are generally successful in creating a "problem-solving atmosphere" and consequently the children persist in attempting…

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)

Investigated a beginning mathematics teacher's beliefs about problem-solving while finishing preservice training and how these beliefs affected, and were affected by, the first three months of teaching. Analyses revealed conflicts between the teacher's idealism and the reality of classroom practice, as students were not always receptive to…

How calculators can enhance problem-solving abilities is discussed. Examples of calculator table-building activities that span the gap from arithmetic to algebra in middle schools are given. Percent, area and perimeter, and exponents are the focus. (MNS)

Cites need for properly integrating computers into curriculum, warning about past mistakes and looking at methods to promote curricular change. Identifies as important goals a clear definition of mathematics education and the benefits of a technologically integrated curriculum presenting ideas/strategies for achieving these goals. (JM)

Computer assisted instruction is presented as a tool for helping students learn to successfully solve word problems. Four stages of developing a curriculum for elementary school mathematics, grades three through six, are covered. (MP)

Investigated were Australian and Papua New Guinean elementary school children's strategies and errors on arithmetic word problems. Reports that (1) the two samples showed similar strategies and similar errors and (2) the main variable determining difficulty was the semantic structure of the questions. (YP)

Demonstrates how the uniqueness and anonymity of a student's Social Security number can be utilized to create individualized polynomial equations that students can investigate using computers or graphing calculators. Students write reports of their efforts to find and classify all real roots of their equation. (MDH)

Examines the use of the computer to approximate the value of the definite integral normally calculated by mathematical means. Presents four examples using BASIC programs to approximate single and double integrals by numerical integration and the Monte Carlo method. Programs are provided. (MDH)

Relates research findings on the way primary-grade students communicate mathematical ideas through the use of symbols to a framework for students to investigate the part-whole relationship of quantity. Discusses children's problem-solving abilities, linking word problems and symbols, the importance of context for understanding symbols, and the…

Investigated is whether children would spontaneously model problems with superfluous information and whether their modeling would facilitate problem solving. Included are the addition/subtraction story problems used in this study, introduction, method, results, discussion, and conclusions. (KR)