Is there a better way to help your first-grade students with addition? Author offers suggestions. (Editor/RK)

The 1974 Third United States of America Mathematical Olympiad for secondary school students is described. Included are five test problems with solutions, a brief statistical analysis of test scores, and a list of the eight finalists. (CR)

This appendix to the technical report "Developmental Activities Related to Summative Evaluation" contains 12 forms of a test entitled Problem Solving Survey, Part II. This test was used as part of the evaluation of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP. Each test contains two examples and three problems. (MP)

The efforts of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP, to develop a paper-and-pencil instrument which could be used to assess processes used by children in attempting to solve nonroutine mathematical problems is described. A brief review of related literature is given and the development of the first and second instruments described.…

Appendices A - D to the technical report "The Development of a Process Evaluation Instrument" are presented. This instrument was developed as part of the Mathematical Problem Solving Project, MPSP. The appendices are: (1) Interview Problems; (2) First Instrument; (3) Second Instrument; and (4) Student Responses to Second Instrument and…

The problem-solving strategies used by tenth-grade students in the solution of mathematical problems were investigated. Forty students selected from four high schools were given pretests generating sixteen scores related to mathematics achievement, attitude toward mathematics, and other ability measures. These students were then asked to solve…

This bulletin gives an overview of research studies which pertain to the verbal problem-solving ability of elementary school children. Studies included relate directly to the following questions: (1) What factors are related to problem solving ability? (2) What are the characteristics of good problem solvers? (3) How important is reading to…

The effects of instructional variables and individual differences upon structural learning tasks were studied. Eighty college students were given pretasks to test mathematical problem solving and paired-associate (PA) learning skills. Each subject was then given two PA learning tasks presented in a study-test format. Kinship terms served as…

Strategies for problem solving are discussed in the first chapter in Unit 10 of this SMSG series. The second chapter covers the following algebra topics: solving simple equations and inequalities, simplifying expressions, solving fractional equations and solving inequalities involving fractions, factors whose product is zero, and factoring. See SE…

The purpose was to ascertain the effects of three different presentations of mathematical word problems on the problem solving ability of 80 preservice elementary school teachers. Three forms of a test of ten word problems were given, all with a multiple-choice selection of answers; one form included accurate pictorial representations of items,…

Twenty-six structural variables were defined and investigated using a set of algebraic word problems solved by 96 college students. The study attempted to identify a small independent well-defined set of arithmetic, linguistic, and algebraic structural variables which account for a maximum amount of the variance of the observed probability correct…

Identifying the larger (L), smaller (S) and difference (D) of two real numbers, and then selecting the appropriate relationship between L, D, and S can help students solve algebra word problems. (SD)

A major source of challenging problems for students is the use of higher mathematics to derive elementary problems. Several examples are given. (MP)

A situation is presented that is intended to lead to open-ended mathematical discussions that allow students to conjecture, discover, and prove mathematical statements. (MP)