Discusses the use of quick-image activities in which the teacher flashes one particular image consisting of dots on the overhead projector screen for three seconds, hides it from view, then asks students to tell how many dots were shown and to describe what they saw. (ASK)

Presents a study to develop better understanding of the processes involved in the construction of oral and written symbolic systems and to grasp their role in the elaboration of the modeling function of numbers. Proposes ideas for teaching in light of this study and contributes better understanding of the relationship between numeration and…

Describes three calculations used to make students aware of the size of Avogadro's number: (1) the new size of a 6-inch diameter ball with volume increased by a factor of Avogadro's number; (2) the number of moles of sand grains in the Sahara Desert; and (3) the dimensions and length of a mole of hydrogen atoms shaped into a cube, a square, and a…

Explores students' abilities in mental computation, finds out the strategies they use most naturally, and develops a theoretical framework by giving 60 children a questionnaire and interviewing them on a series of arithmetic operations to be solved by mental computation. Generates a classification of children's strategies. Contains 31 references.…

Describes an activity in which students investigate the symmetry of factor sets of composite numbers using the TI-83 graphing calculator. This activity allows students to observe patterns, make predictions, and verify their accuracy. (ASK)

Examines the effects of a teaching strategy in which fifth-grade students evaluated the strengths or weaknesses of solution methods to pattern finding problems, including an experimental and control group each consisting of 34 elementary students, in Japan. The experimental group showed a significantly better performance on the retention test…

Evaluated an instructional procedure that focused on reflective problem-solving and used young children's fascination with stars as a starting point to develop their concept of numbers. Found that test group performance on mathematics problem- solving tasks indicated developing understanding of the concept of numbers 1 through 5, compared to that…

Describes how the creation of a musical composition suggested a theorem concerning the Fibonacci sequence. (ASK)

Reflects on four years of teaching a course called Principle of Major Teachers for pre-service elementary school teachers. Identifies and describes the discord between their formal mathematical knowledge and their informal language used in the context of elementary number theory. Presents encouraging results from a code-switching experiment.…

Adapted Keil's predictability method to examine adults' and preschoolers' conceptions of numbers, focusing on the ontological distinction between numbers and sets of objects. Found that children, like adults, attribute spatial-arrangement properties to collections much more than to numbers, although both are considered to have quantitative…

Creates graphs to see how the relative frequency of an event tends to approach the probability of that event as the number of trials increases. Uses a simulation of a poker machine to provide context for this subject. (ASK)

Discusses numeracy strategy. Focuses on gaining insight into student understanding of number. Discusses the benefits of this long-overdue numeracy strategy. (ASK)

Presents a mathematician's reflections on his experiences as a young mathematician in elementary school and at home, including some mathematical moments that sparked his interest in dimensions and mathematical thinking. Also describes his experiences working with K-6 teachers and students. (Contains 17 references.) (ASK)

Studies two children working in the context of specially developed computer microworlds with a teacher/researcher for approximately 45 minutes a week for 50 weeks over a two-year period. Indicates that the operations and unit types associated with the children's whole-number sequences did not interfere with the reorganization of their fractional…

Presents an activity in which students must arrange five fractions represented by dominoes in ascending order and justify their reasons for the ordering. Representing common fractions with dominoes helps identify students' misconceptions about fractions. (ASK)