In 2 studies (Ns = 55 and 54), the authors examined a basic form of conceptual understanding of rational number arithmetic, the direction of effect of decimal arithmetic operations, at a level of detail useful for informing instruction. Middle school students were presented tasks examining knowledge of the direction of effects (e.g., "True or…

In two studies (N's = 55 and 54), we examined a basic form of conceptual understanding of rational number arithmetic, the direction of effect of decimal arithmetic operations, at a level of detail useful for informing instruction. Middle school students were presented tasks examining knowledge of the direction of effects (e.g., "True or…

This article presents the results of a qualitative research with a group of 15 university students of social sciences on informal inferential reasoning developed in a computer environment on concepts involved in the confidence intervals. The results indicate that students developed a correct reasoning about sampling variability and visualized…

Gestures such as finger counting, pointing, and touching have been found to facilitate mathematical development in preschool and school-aged children. However, little is known about the types of mathematically related gestures used by parent-toddler dyads to facilitate early mathematics learning during the first 3 years of life. A total of 24…

In this article, we present a data set and case study exercise that can be used by educators to teach a range of statistical concepts including Simpson's paradox. The data set and case study are based on a real-life scenario where there was a claim of discrimination based on ethnicity. The exercise highlights the importance of performing rigorous…

How can children's natural perceptuo-motor skills be harnessed for teaching and learning mathematical structure? We address this question in the case of the integers. Existing research suggests that adult mental representations of integers recruit perceptuo-motor functionalities involving symmetry. Building on these findings, we designed a…

In this study, a Thermodynamic Concept Test (TCT) was designed to assess student's conceptual understanding heat and thermodynamics at undergraduate level. The different statistical tests such as item difficulty index, item discrimination index, point biserial coefficient were used for assessing TCT. For each item of the test these indices were…

Following the trend in science and engineering education generated by the visible impact created by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the investigator developed a Physics of Semiconductors Concept Inventory (PSCI). PSCI fills the need of standardized concept tests for undergraduate education in photonics and electrical engineering. The structure…

Regardless of the related discipline, students in statistics courses invariably have difficulty understanding the connection between the numerical values calculated for end-of-the-chapter exercises and their usefulness in decision making. This disconnect is, in part, due to the lack of time and opportunity to actually design the experiments and…

Calculators used widely by students, teachers, scientists, engineers and many others provide an interesting case study of a compelling technology that has helped change the way many professionals work. They not only help in enhancing problem solving skills of most individuals, but also help visualise solutions to problems in a better way. Research…

Modern software practices call for the active involvement of business people in the software process. Therefore, programming has become an indispensable part of the information systems component of the core curriculum at business schools. In this paper, we present a model-based approach to teaching introduction to programming to general business…