The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Curriculum and Evaluation Standards puts great stress on the mathematical processes of problem solving, communication, reasoning, and making connections. NCTM standards also emphasize new and emerging content areas for middle school students such as algebra, data analysis, and probability.…

Describes a pilot study of computerized adaptive testing in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program's tenth-grade mathematics problem-solving and applications subtests. Comparisons are made to pencil-and-paper tests, and student reactions as determined by a posttest survey are discussed. (LRW)

Presents a unit to review geometric concepts and problem solving by having students work cooperatively to discover geometric shapes constructed from two congruent right triangles obtained from cutting a rectangle along its diagonal. Students report their findings both orally and in writing. (MDH)

Describes a mobile computer lab set up in a converted bus that is used by fourth graders as part of the math curriculum. The program, which emphasizes problem solving and spatial visualization, also addresses gender differences and in-service teacher training. The physical arrangements, including provisions for computer security, are described.…

Presents three features of "Good" questions: requires students to do more than simply remember a strategy to answer; promotes student learning while answering the question; and have several acceptable answers. Considers how questions can be used to cater to the range of student abilities. (MDH)

Presents a gamelike context that provides general-mathematics students the opportunity to explore situations involving chance and develop reasoning about probability. Provides three worksheets for activities that promote components of the NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. (MDH)

Discusses the use of the LOGO programing language as a problem-solving tool for elementary school students. Papert's theory is explained; the integration of LOGO into the language arts and math curricula is discussed; LOGO research is reviewed; and recommendations for future work are offered. (18 references) (LRW)

Described is the Educational Leaders in Mathematics (ELM) Project, a four-stage inservice teacher program designed to stimulate teachers' development of a constructivist view of learning. The impact of the intervention was studied, and results indicated that teachers' beliefs were affected, producing changes in teaching strategies. (MDH)

Reports on a study of the influence of problem-solving computer software on the attitudes of secondary school students toward mathematics while using computer-assisted instruction. Student performance on pretests and posttests are compared, gender differences are discussed, and implications for mathematics instruction are suggested. (10…

A project in which teams of preservice teachers were grouped with teams of seventh grade students and worked cooperatively on a set of assignments is described. The plan, project, implementation, results, and summary are presented. (KR)

Describes a study of ninth-grade students that evaluated the ability of the Word Problem Solving Tutor, a cognitive tutoring system, to improve the abstract-reasoning component of word-problem solving. Compares combinations of traditional instruction, computer-assisted instruction, and the tutoring program and discusses implications for math…

Examined the perceptions of preservice elementary teachers enrolled in reading, mathematics, and integrating reading and mathematics methods courses about integrating mathematics, reading, and writing instruction at the elementary/middle school level. Surveys indicated that all students were generally positive about instructional integration. They…

While the definition of learning disabilities has been the subject of controversy for decades, the current federal classification system identifies three specific areas of deficit: reading, written language, and mathematics and maintains the presumption that the disabilities are a result of a central nervous system dysfunction. In contrast to the…

Math can help children understand and think about the many aspects of their world through its connections to them. Teachers who see, and help children see, those connections enrich children's learning and development. Teachers know that building children's vocabularies helps them understand stories they hear and later will read. But by taking a…

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a frequently used multivariate analysis technique in statistics. Jennrich and Sampson (1966) solved a significant EFA factor loading matrix rotation problem by deriving the direct Quartimin rotation. Jennrich was also the first to develop standard errors for rotated solutions, although these have still not made…