The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010) propose a new vision for the mathematics classroom with updated content standards and Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP). These practices are founded on NCTM processes (Problem Solving, Reasoning and Proof, Communication, Representation, and Connections) and abilities…

We present the results of a qualitative research study designed to explore differences in the types of reasoning triggered by information presented to chemistry students in two different formats. One group of students was asked to analyze a sequence of images designed to represent critical elements in the explanation of a target phenomenon.…

This exploratory study uses the convergent design of mixed methods to integrate adaptive expertise theory to study how individual student participant from graphic design or non-graphic-design majors to solve a novel ideation problem in graphic design. Adaptive expertise includes six dimensions: metacognition, flexibility, dynamic knowledge,…

Carbon cycle pool-and-flux reasoning is a critical facet of climate literacy. This article begins with discussion of why this type of reasoning is both challenging and important. Results from two studies are reported. The first describes students' approaches to carbon cycle pool-and-flux reasoning. The second describes and reports results from an…

Ill-structured problems can be regarded as one of the measures that meet recent social needs emphasizing students' abilities to solve real-life problems. This study aimed to analyze the mathematical abstraction process in solving such problems, and to identify the mathematical abstraction level ([I] Recognition of mathematical structure through…

While it is sometimes claimed that abstract art requires little skill and is indistinguishable from the scribbles of young children, recent research has shown that even adults with no training in art can distinguish works by abstract expressionists from superficially similar works by children and even elephants, monkeys, and apes (Hawley-Dolan…

Researchers studying parent-child reminiscing in the preschool years have often focused on parents' and children's elaborative talk (i.e., provision of unique details). The current study proposes a novel conceptualization of parent-child reminiscing narratives by examining 4 levels of abstraction (i.e., a continuum of literal to inferential…

The social studies curriculum travels through time and space and is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. To an outsider, the social studies curriculum is a single line on a program of studies, 45 minutes of a student's school day. Those on the inside, however, know that the field covers history, geography, civics, economics, and much…

According to Geary's evolutionary approach, humans are able to easily acquire primary knowledge and, with more efforts, secondary knowledge. The present study investigates how primary knowledge contents can facilitate the learning of formal logical rules, i.e., secondary knowledge. Framing formal logical problems in evolutionary salient contexts…

The purpose of this study is to describe, critically analyse and discuss the Swedish system of assessing ethics education in compulsory school through national tests. The publicly available tests from 2013 for grades six and nine have been studied as have the assessment instructions for teachers. Staff responsible for the test construction have…

Even though a school in Southern Virginia had been utilizing a variety of manipulatives, calculators, and computers to transition students through the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) sequence; students did not meet the state proficiency requirement on the standardized math assessment. A qualitative descriptive case study design, grounded…

We introduce a novel measure of abstractness based on the amount of information of a concept computed from its position in a semantic taxonomy. We refer to this measure as "precision". We propose two alternative ways to measure precision, one based on the path length from a concept to the root of the taxonomic tree, and another one based…

Explaining appears to dominate primary teachers' understanding of mathematical reasoning when it is not confused with problem solving. Drawing on previous literature of mathematical reasoning, we generate a view of the critical aspects of reasoning that may assist primary teachers when designing and enacting tasks to elicit and develop…

Dual Process Theory has recently been applied to Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to suggest that reasoning by people with ASD and people with higher levels of ASD-like traits can be characterised by reduced intuitive and greater reflective processing. 26 adolescents and adults with ASD and 22 adolescent and adult controls completed an assessment of…

Teaching introductory statistics using curricula focused on modeling and simulation is becoming increasingly common in introductory statistics courses and touted as a more beneficial approach for fostering students' statistical thinking. Yet, surprisingly little research has been conducted to study the impact of modeling and simulation curricula…