This document contains 53 plenary and contributed papers presented at the eighth Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) meeting. Two plenary addresses focused on mathematics research in Australia and Japan, and problem solving and symbolism. Contributed papers were classified under 13 headings including: teaching and learning theory; cognition;…

This is a narrative review of research in mathematics education reported during 1987. The purpose of this review is to extract from research reports ideas that may prove useful to school practitioners. Major sections are: (1) "Planning for Instruction" (relating historical developments, aides and grades, teaching approaches, problem…

This research-based review discusses effective computer applications for students with mental disabilities. Most computer-based instruction currently in use is of a drill-and-practice variety, which is needed to develop fluency in basic academic skills. Studies conducted on math fluency indicate that when students are using counting strategies to…

This report describes a computer-based instructional system, the Story Problem Solver (SPS). SPS provides students with instruction about the semantic structure of story problems. It was developed to test a specific schema theory of knowledge organization in long-term memory. For this reason SPS depends explicitly upon a theory of the relationship…

This research compared the performance of ninth grade females and males on flight protocol, with particular attention to interpretation of the graphs of paths of falling bodies, rolling objects, and projectiles. These subjects were chosen because they had received no formal instruction in projectile motion, yet through typical life experience, had…

In 1976, U.S. District Court Judge John T. Curtin issued a court order stating that the Buffalo Board of Education, the superintendent of schools, the commissioner of education, and the New York State Board of Regents were guilty of de jure segregation. This decision led to a complete restructuring of the instructional program and a racial and…

Designed to help understand the cognitive and social effects of children's classroom experiences with LOGO and computers, this study presents an account of the ways in which two elementary school teachers thought about, grappled with, and practiced LOGO in their classrooms over a 2-year period. The account is organized chronologically, first…

To reduce aggressive children's behavior problems and to reduce their high risk status for later major difficulties, an Anger Coping intervention based on cognitive behavioral techniques was developed (Lochman, Nelson, and Sims, 1981). Despite promising outcomes, testing showed not all children improved with this program. This study compared the…

This paper reviews research conducted at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan for the Agency for Instructional Technology as part of "Solutions Unlimited," eight instructional units that integrate computer software, videocassettes, and related print materials. The units are designed to improve the problem-solving skills…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of nine published research reports related to problem solving, elementary school science, science process skills, and curriculum and instruction are presented. Aspects addressed in the studies include: (1) problem-solving skills of high school chemistry students; (2) spatial puzzles and the assessment of…

Computer simulations of agricultural finance and management may be helpful to students preparing for agricultural careers. Simulations would provide problem definition and problem solving in realistic interactions with complex and ambiguous situations similar to those encountered in farming. The paper describes a major financial problem for…

Action learning is a potentially empowering management development strategy--empowering to managers and through them to employees. The core of the action learning process is similar to the empowerment process identified by Freire (1973), although the context of these approaches is very different: praxis. Praxis involves critical reflection on…

This unit is 1 of 12 developed for the university classroom portion of the Mathematics-Methods Program (MMP), created by the Indiana University Mathematics Education Development Center (MEDC) as an innovative program for the mathematics training of prospective elementary school teachers (PSTs). Each unit is written in an activity format that…

This issue contains abstracts and critical comments for ten mathematics education journal articles, plus an editorial on teacher education needs by Thomas J. Cooney. Two articles focus on problem solving; the remainder concern instruction about and with computers, geometric perceptions, preservice teachers' conceptions of volume, attitudes toward…

The associations among cognitive automatization, abstract problem solving, and educational performance were studied using 127 fourth to ninth grade students. A number of measures of fast, automatic, and fluent performance (FAF measures) were used: writing the alphabet; reading from a word list; and mentally performing arithmetic operations. The…