This submission contains the Proceedings of the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), held at York University in Toronto, Ontario. The CMESG is a group of mathematicians and mathematics educators who meet annually to discuss mathematics education issues at all levels of learning. The aims of the Study Group…

Teaching comprehension skills requires teaching to intuition with activities such as presenting puzzling situations to introduce a topic, using art to elicit latent feelings, using imagery and improvisations to enhance visualization, and using music and dance to encourage nonverbal expressions. (DB)

The writing approach framework provides a comprehensive perspective on college-level academic writing based on the relationship of writers' beliefs and strategies to the quality of written outcomes. However, despite increased demands for more and better writing at the graduate level, little is known about graduate-level writing processes or about…

Jean Louis Nicolet is a Swiss teacher of mathematics who found his subject so fascinating that he was puzzled as to why so many pupils could not share this enjoyment in their studies. He came to a conclusion which is now supported by the results of psychological research into the learning process: he suggested that the mind does not spontaneously…

Explores different types of Bingo games in which students can work on mental arithmetic, solve equations, and recognize geometric shapes. (KHR)

Describes a classroom activity featuring a simple stay-switch probability game. Contends that the exercise helps students see the importance of empirically validating beliefs. Includes full instructions for conducting and discussing the exercise. (CFR)

Analysis of students' work on tasks relating to reflections, translations and rotations is discussed. Findings from research with regard to students' understanding of a subject would help teachers prepare for the class.

This article explores the intuitions of secondary education majors regarding probability. This is accomplished by administering a two-question instrument to 113 participants. Their responses to these questions, and more importantly the explanations they provide for these answers, are analysed. The conclusions drawn may be informative to teachers…

Presents a technique for introducing analysis of variance (ANOVA) at the concrete level of operational thought, enabling students in introductory statistics courses to understand the complex correlations and interactions between variables. Helps students develop an intuitive understanding of the concepts of between- and within-groups variance and…

Types of learning with a strong emphasis on the responsibility of the learner (such as discovery learning) are gaining popularity over traditional forms of (expository) instruction. Discovery learning distinguishes itself by the central role of learning processes such as hypothesis generation (induction), experiment design, and data…

Purpose: The literature advocates educational decision-making processes that are either intuitive or systematic. While the two approaches seem to be incompatible, each has its merits. Intuitive thinking is considered to be holistic and creative, whereas the systematic approach has the advantages of a theoretical foundation and accuracy in data…

Argues that the research paper as taught in English classes is an artificial construct that has its basis in empiricism, a philosophical system that English teachers no longer understand or accept. Suggests a system of probablistic reasoning developed by eighteenth century philosopher John Locke may be a more useful system for teaching the…

Recent research has revealed the existence of intuitive representations strongly rooted in diverse knowledge domains and the difficulties of modifying those representations through instruction by means of conceptual change processes (Carey, 1995; Gopnik & Meltzoff, 1997; Vosniadou, 1994). According to some interpretations, these representations…

A facilitator is considered to act intentionally when they are deliberate about what they are doing and can provide rationales for their actions. The same facilitator is said to practice intuitively when they are not able to articulate a clear rationale for their actions, yet they are still able to facilitate effectively. A review of the…

The implications of the interaction between knowledge acquisition and problem solving are discussed. Options for the teaching of problem solving are listed including: giving students the opportunity to solve many problems, facilitating students' exploration of the mental processes used to solve problems, and providing explicit training in the…