In this article, I describe a research/teaching experience I undertook with a class of 5-year-old children in Malta. The topic was subtraction on the number line. I interpret the teaching/learning process through a semiotic perspective. In particular, I highlight the role played by the gesture of forming "frog jumps" on the number line.…

Ever since their serendipitous discovery by Italian mathematicians trying to solve cubic equations in the 16th century, imaginary and complex numbers have been difficult topics to understand. Here the word complex is used to describe something consisting of a number of interconnecting parts. The different parts of a complex number are the…

"Where Mathematics Comes From" (Lakoff & Núñez 2000) proposed that mathematical concepts such as arithmetic and counting are constructed cognitively from embodied metaphors of actions on physical objects, and four actions, or 'grounding metaphors' in particular: collecting, stepping, constructing and measuring. This article argues…

Research Findings: The aim of this study was to investigate U.S. preschool teachers' math teaching knowledge in a specific content domain: counting and numbers. One hundred in-service and pre-service teachers participated in the study; they completed a questionnaire that is composed of learning scenarios and scenario-based math teaching questions.…

Early number skills are a critical aspect of early mathematics development. However, the constructs that comprise early number skills differ across assessments, and previous studies have proposed various models of early mathematics skills comprised of formal and informal tasks. This study explored the factor structure of a researcher-developed…

Interventions to support children with mathematical learning difficulties typically address deficits in domain-specific knowledge. However, not all students benefit from these instructional programs. In this case, some authors suggest an even more intensive instructional program combined with other factors assumed to be relevant for learning.…

To promote reversibility and strengthen number sense, the authors created an engaging and novel rational number exploration--Quotient Quandary Reversibility task (QQRT)--which promoted flexible and reflective thinking. A class of fifth-grade students took an active role in a collaborative learning task, discussed their strategies, revisited the…

We are pleased to bring you this follow-up to Mairéad Hourigan and Aisling Leavy's article [EJ1289314] that was published in issue 1 this year. In this contribution, they demonstrate that embedding mathematics within a rich context and learning sequence assists with the consolidation of student understanding and makes more effective use of teacher…

Pirie & Kieren (1994b) states that conceptual understanding in human beings is divided into eight levels. This qualitative and descriptive research study aims to identify the layers of conceptual understanding of fractions through three representations, namely of circles, rectangles, and number lines. The subjects of this research are three…

Reasoning about numerical magnitudes is a key aspect of mathematics learning. Most research examining the relation of magnitude understanding to general mathematics achievement has focused on whole number and fraction magnitudes. The present longitudinal study (N = 435) used a 3-step latent class analysis to examine reasoning about magnitudes on a…

Rather than describing the challenges of integer learning in terms of a transition from positive to negative numbers, we have arrived at a different perspective: We view students as inhabiting distinct mathematical worlds consisting of particular types of numbers (as construed by the students). These worlds distinguish and illuminate students'…

In 1981 Dixon introduced a clever idea for factoring large numbers. This idea has become the basis for many current factoring techniques. In this paper, we show how to implement the idea on the computer in the classroom. Additionally, pseudocode is given for finding examples suitable for demonstrating Dixon factorization.

Cardinal number acquisition plays an important role in children?s sense of number. Various investigations have revealed the influence of cultural variables on cardinal number acquisition. In this research, we investigated Turkish children?s acquisition of cardinal numbers. Quantitative research method was used. The participants were 100 preschool…

How can we make sense of what we learned today?" This is a question the author commonly poses to her algebra students in an effort to have them think about the connections between the new concept they are learning and concepts they have previously learned. For students who have a strong, expansive understanding of previously learned topics,…

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between children's early mathematics and their home numeracy environment (HNE). Chilean children from families who varied widely in socioeconomic status were assessed at the beginning and end of prekindergarten in 2016 (N = 419, M[subscript age] = 4:7 [years:months]), and at the end of…