Interviewed 59 2nd- and 44 3rd-year elementary school students concerning their solutions to arithmetic problems commensurate with their age and ability. The results indicate that as children progress through school, they continue to use counting as an important part of their problem-solving repertoire, combining counting skills in idiosyncratic…

Presents an activity to help students begin to seek patterns and make mathematical predictions by using a counting game. Contains reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Discusses three methods to teach the order of operations to middle school students: (1) asking students to fill in operations in a statement to obtain a given answer; (2) using mnemonics to remember operation order; and (3) having students discover the logic system used by their calculators. (MDH)

Effects of a summer break on the math computation skills of students in grades five through seven classified as either learning disabled or nonspecial education low achievers were investigated. Results indicated that only fifth grade low-achieving students regressed significantly following a summer break. (Author/JDD)

Examined the development of proportional reasoning by means of a temperature mixture task. Results show the importance of distinguishing between intuitive knowledge and formal computational knowledge of proportional concepts. Provides a new perspective on the relation of intuitive and computational knowledge during development. (GLR)

The purpose of this paper is to show, by computer examples, that very different results can be obtained by rearranging selected conditionally convergent series. Computer programs allow the students to select the real number to which they wish the rearrangement to converge. Two computer programs are appended. (KR)

The problem of determining the most energy-efficient strategy to use in approaching a traffic light that is sighted at an unknown phase in its cycle is discussed. Included are calculations, results, and conclusions. (KR)

Presented is a combinatorial problem based on the Hash House Harriers rule which states that the route of the run should not have previously been traversed by the club. Discovered is how many weeks the club can meet before the rule has to be broken. (KR)

A demonstration used in a heat and material balances class that explains how a reusable heat pack works is described. An initial homework problem or exam question is provided with its solution. A discussion of the solution is included. (KR)

Presents the computation and estimation strands of the "National Statement on Mathematics for Australian Schools." Recommends that the computational curriculum in schools reflect a more balanced time allotment among written, mental, estimating, and calculator computations. (MDH)

A multisensory program using a counting technique was effective in teaching math skills to three elementary students with mild disabilities. Results showed significant gains in acquisition of target skills as well as maintenance and generalization to novel math problems. (Author/DB)

Discussed are teaching methods that can be used in association with amusement park rides. The basic principles behind the effects of several rides are reviewed and illustrated. (CW)

This article explains how this method is done, examines some reasons for including it as a topic in mathematics curricula, and uses modular arithmetic to explore its mathematical basis and its generalizability to computations in bases other than 10. (CW)

A 14-year-old Brazilian boy in the fourth grade was given 170 problems orally, each asking for the sum of 2 2-digit numbers. Responses indicated he had invented his own algorithm for addition, similar to the school one, based largely on his experiences with money. (Contains 13 references.) (JAF)

Argues that intuitive and computational knowledge can be combined by focusing more explicitly on referential and quantitative meanings in division of fractions problems. Recommends teaching mathematics as problem solving, communication, reasoning, and connections to help students overcome misunderstandings and connect their intuitive knowledge…