"The Systemic Initiative for Montana Mathematics and Science," based on a successful Dutch nontraditional curriculum, was used by a mathematics teacher to help ninth graders apply previously learned skills. Creative learning modules provided hands-on experience and helped students carry concrete knowledge to more abstract levels,…

Presents an alternate form of assignment, called "Special Problems," that incorporates writing in journals into the mathematics classroom. The method requires students to provide process narratives to accompany selected homework exercises. Allows the teacher to monitor the student's thought processes and development. (MDH)

Describes two lessons in which a fifth grade teacher emphasized the mechanics of mathematics, such as carrying out various computational procedures, to her students. The first lesson introduced students to the concept of averages. In the second lesson, the teacher conducted class surveys to provide data for computing averages. (BB)

Challenges the readers comprehension of mathematical induction by presenting four examples of arguments that misrepresent the concept. Discusses the reasons why the arguments lead to false conclusions. (MDH)

Presented is an activity which shows how mathematics is used in real life and helps to establish a need for mathematics in students' futures. Adapted from a scavenger-hunt idea, this activity helps students to discover that almost every career makes use of mathematics. (KR)

Small group work has grown in use throughout the 1980s. Reported are six issues that were raised concerning small groups resulting from a series of workshops for university students in which the students worked on problems in groups, jointly planned tasks, and critiquing their use during their practice experience. (MDH)

Presents a series of hands-on activities for grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 6-8 using the common theme of kites to develop number sense in basic operations and fractions. Teachers' guides and worksheets are provided. (MDH)

Presents activities that integrate story telling, history, and problem solving as a stimulus for discussion and creativity in the elementary mathematics classroom, and a way to relieve children's anxiety in an escalating curriculum. (MDH)

To test the Lewis and Mayer simulation model (1987) for understanding compare problems, 3 experiments involving 39 college students and 15 third graders used registration of eye movements. Two experiments somewhat support the model, suggesting it holds true only when the task puts cognitive demands on the subject. (SLD)

This study examines the effect of formal representation of blue and yellow color mixtures as rational numbers on students' ability to solve ratio problems comparing the mixtures. Sixty subjects participated, 20 from each of grades 7, 8, and 9 from a Haifa (Israel) junior high school. Introducing the formal representation improved performance for…

A mathematics achievement test was taken by 132 U.S. and 110 Japanese fifth graders. Scores were higher for the Japanese, and relatively better for computation than problem solving. The reverse was true for the U.S. students. Results are discussed in terms of amount and kind of exposure to mathematics. (SLD)

Presents an activity in which students develop their own theorem involving the relationship between the triangles determined by the squares constructed on the sides of any triangle. Provides a set of four reproducible worksheets, directions on their use, worksheet answers, and suggestions for follow-up activities. (MDH)

This paper describes the use of cooperative groups in teaching calculus. It discusses benefits and drawbacks of group techniques and presents reactions from both students and the author. (Author)

Examines problem-solving techniques used by students in French schools by testing 370 children in grades 6-9. Finds a high degree of variability in procedure selection among those tested. Results show the ability to use a standard procedure is sufficient for solving test problems. Recommends stressing cognitive flexibility. (NL)

Examines the influence of traditional classroom features on learning in a mathematics classroom in the United Kingdom. Analyzes student interviews, lesson observations, and results of questionnaires to show how traditional forms of education can inhibit understanding, reify the divide between school and "real world," and suppress the…