The differences between learning disabled (LD) and non-LD children's problem-solving protocols were analyzed during a picture arrangement task. Although the groups of 29 LD and 27 non-LD children were comparable in global mental processing and task performance, LD children had difficulty with representing problems and deleting irrelevant…

Five-year-olds learned to associate three- or four-letter abbreviations, or cues, with spoken words, in which one of the letters in the cue corresponded to a phoneme that was articulated similarly or dissimilarly. Children found the phonetic cues easier to learn than control cues, suggesting that children are sensitive to the phonological and…

Presents three investigations related to the game Bulgarian Solitaire. Investigations ask students to find and represent optimal solutions to the problem, to identify cyclical solution patterns for different numbers, and to respond to questions involving the number and nature of the cyclical solutions. An appendix provides answers to questions.…

Described are some ways in which individual states code driver's license numbers. The encoding of month, date of birth, year of birth, sex, and others involving elementary mathematics and the use of an elaborate system of hashing functions in describing the first, middle, and last names are discussed. (KR)

Presents a problem that requires solving a card problem by exploring patterns that will lead to a logical solution. Involves students in developing and analyzing their own algorithms as well as discussing their reasoning with peers. (ASK)

Recommends the use of beans as an inexpensive, durable, and readily available resource for developing science-process skills in K-8 students. Shares strategies for using beans in graphing, patterning, and classifying. (DDR)

Describes learning activities in which fifth and sixth graders used spreadsheets to explore the shapes of numbers. Discusses creating spatial patterns with a computer draw program; examining number patterns in a spreadsheet; comparing square and rectangular numbers; and creating the multiplication times table. (AEF)

Adult musician's brains show structural enlargements, but it is not known whether these are inborn or a consequence of long-term training. In addition, music training in childhood has been shown to have positive effects on visual-spatial and verbal outcomes. However, it is not known whether pre-existing advantages in these skills are found in…

Pattern work is now undertaken as early as kindergarten, and both researchers and teachers have discovered that children engage in pattern work with great enthusiasm and innate ability. Having some flexibility in pattern perception and selecting mathematically useful patterns require some training, although there is nothing particularly algebraic…

This article reviews recent research on perception of tangible pictures in sighted and blind people. Haptic picture naming accuracy is dependent upon familiarity and access to semantic memory, just as in visual recognition. Performance is high when haptic picture recognition tasks do not depend upon semantic memory. Viewpoint matters for the ease…

Despite research into the factors that motivate prospective teachers and those already in post, relatively little attention has been paid to the perspectives of trainee teachers. This article is based on a survey of 550 undergraduate and postgraduate trainee teachers, using a Likert-type questionnaire, to discover whether particular patterns of…

This study addresses the question: "To what extent are teacher assigned subject specific grades useful for data driven decision making in schools?" Recently, schools have been urged to bring teachers and school leaders together around student-level data in an effort to increase dialogue, collaboration and professional communities to…

The use of geographic information systems (GIS) in the classroom provides a robust and effective method of teaching the primary spatial skills of identification, description, and explanation of spatial pattern. A major handicap for the development of GIS-based learning experiences, especially for non-GIS specialist educators, is the availability…

Three new computer-administered item types for the analytical scale of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test were developed and evaluated. One item type was a free-response version of the current analytical reasoning item type. The second item type was a somewhat constrained free-response version of the pattern identification (or…

This booklet offers teacher instructions and student worksheets on number activities for gifted primary grade students. Three sections are included: (1) "moving numbers" which asks students to supply the missing member or members of addition and subtraction equations; (2) "number trails," which involve the completion of number…