Computational models of infant categorization often fail to elaborate the transitional mechanisms that allow infants to achieve adult performance. In this article, we apply a successful connectionist model of adult category learning to developmental data. The Supervised and Unsupervised Stratified Adaptive Incremental Network (SUSTAIN) model is…

We present the design principles for a new kind of computer system that helps students learn algebra. The fundamental idea is to have a system based on the microworld paradigm that allows students to make their own calculations, as they do with paper and pencil, without being obliged to use commands, and to verify the correctness of these…

In this paper, experiments on the automatic discrimination of basic emotions from spoken Finnish are described. For the purpose of the study, a large emotional speech corpus of Finnish was collected; 14 professional actors acted as speakers, and simulated four primary emotions when reading out a semantically neutral text. More than 40 prosodic…

Colorado's voucher law was declared unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court on June 28, 2004. Voucher supporters have begun drafting revised legislation designed to address the legal problem. This article calls into question the key financial claim of revenue neutrality--a claim that was central to the promotion and passage of the departing…

This study, part of a narrative classroom inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics in a Canadian elementary classroom, emerges from the three years I was a participant-observer in Janine O'Neil's 3rd/4th-grade classroom at Bay Street Community School. Drawing on the curriculum commonplaces of teacher, social milieu, subject matter,…

Mathematics in textbooks and indeed in conventional classrooms is often presented as exercises or worksheets in which the mathematics itself has been processed into a form that is easily digested. This McDonald's version of mathematics ensures that the mathematical skill or technique is laid bare and typically the sole focus of attention. In this…

Cognitive clusters from the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Cognitive Abilities that measure select Cattell-Horn-Carroll broad and narrow cognitive abilities were shown to be significantly related to mathematics achievement in a large, nationally representative sample of children and adolescents. Multiple regression analyses were used to…

In this article, data from a study of the mental computation competence of students in grades 3 to 10 are presented. Students responded to mental computation items, presented orally, that included operations applied to fractions, decimals and percents. The data were analysed using Rasch modelling techniques, and a six-level hierarchy of part-whole…

This article demonstrates how a child's invented algorithm about tens and ones generated "transitional thinking" on the way to the construction of a mathematical understanding of place value. The articles also discusses how two important "best practice" classroom strategies, mathematical discourse, and the role of wait time in that discourse take…

Policy-makers in almost all countries agree on one thing: namely on the importance of education and skills to ensuring future economic prosperity. A fruitful line of research has focused on determining the impact that acquiring education or training has on an individual's labour market productivity and earning prospects: this is known as rate of…

This technical report provides the results of a study on the calculation and use of generalized variance functions (GVFs) and design effects for the 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The SASS is a periodic integrated system of sample surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) that produces sampling variances…

This document offers instructional materials for a 32-hour course on math operations involving graphs/statistics, measurement (English and metric), geometry, exponential notation, and scientific notation as applied in the workplace. The course was part of a workplace literacy project developed by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and…

This report examines the development of tuition rates and tuition policy in Washington State's public higher education system and provides comparisons to rates and policies in other states. It also explores philosophies regarding the determination of tuition rates, along with the range of potential policy options. The draft report is divided into…

During the 1989-90 school year, the Barrett Math Program was piloted in selected sections of grades K-7 in five Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools (APS) elementary schools. The Barrett Math Program is designed to improve the total mathematical skills of elementary school students, including computation, concepts, and problem solving, as measured by…

Developed for elementary teachers, this activity unit is designed to teach students the importance of estimation in developing quantitative thinking. Nine ways in which estimation is useful to students are listed, and five general guidelines are offered to the teacher for planning estimation activities. Specific guidelines are provided for…