This paper focuses on the relation between two areas of research which owe a great debt to the work of Giyoo Hatano: the ways in which the use of the abacus mediates arithmetic problem solving and the way in which the use of the kanji writing system mediates the interpretation of unfamiliar words. These examples are related to L. S. Vygotsky's…

In this article, the author responds to a teacher's request for an advice on how to help a 5-year-old child in her class who has difficulty moving from place to place. The author states that the child has a problem on processing information and sensations that have to do with what he sees. This is called "visual-spatial processing" or…

Educational games may offer a viable strategy for developing students' problem-solving skills. However, the state of art of educational game research does not provide an account for that. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop an empirically allocated model about problem-based gaming that can be utilised to design pedagogically meaningful…

Word problems in mathematics seem to constantly pose learning difficulties for all kinds of students. Recent work in math education (for example, [Lakoff, G. & Nunez, R. E. (2000). "Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied mind brings mathematics into being." New York: Basic Books]) suggests that the difficulties stem from an…

Purpose: The paper's purpose is to promote the use of modern technologies such as multimedia packages to engineering students. The aim is to help them to learning in their learning, visualization, problem solving and understanding engineering concepts such as in mechanics dynamics. Design/methodology/approach: TAPS packages are developed to help…

This paper reports on a study that examined if it is possible to start teaching algorithmic problem solving as early as elementary school, given the condition that studying mathematics is augmented by suitable use of computer technology. Three pre-service teachers, enrolled on a course on algorithmic problem solving in mathematics and who were…

In the early 1990s, the National Science Foundation funded many research projects for improving statistical education. Many of these stressed the need for classroom activities that illustrate important issues of designing experiments, generating quality data, fitting models, and performing statistical tests. Our paper describes such an activity on…

Emphasis on problem solving in mathematics has gained considerable attention in recent years. While statistics teaching has always been problem driven, the same cannot be said for the teaching of probability where discrete examples involving coins and playing cards are often the norm. This article describes an application of simple probability…

Native ant species do not exist on the island of Maui, the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands. However, one ant, the little fire ant (LFA or "Wasmannia auropunctata") has recently appeared in the region, being discovered on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1999. As a result, the LFA is a serious impending threat to Pacific biodiversity.…

The purpose of this paper is to present evidence supporting the conjecture that graphs and gestures may function in different capacities depending on whether they are used to develop an algorithm or whether they extend or apply a previously developed algorithm in a new context. I illustrate these ideas using an example from undergraduate…

In this paper, we take a look at two electrostatics problems concerning hemispheres. The first problem concerns the direction of the electric field on the flat cap of a uniformly charged hemisphere. We show that the symmetry and principle of superposition coupled with Gauss's law gives a delightfully simple solution and then go on to examine how…

The study aimed to examine the relationship between alternative approaches towards problem solving/design teaching (structural or functional), students' mental modeling of the design process, and the quality of their solutions to design tasks. The "structural" approach emphasizes the need for an ordered and systematic learning of the design…

We investigate the use of external visual representations in probability problem solving. Twenty-six students enrolled in an introductory statistics course for social sciences graduate students (post-baccalaureate) solved eight probability problems in a structured interview format. Results show that students spontaneously use self-generated…

This paper uses a partial differential equation which occurs in a reduced model of large scale circulation in an ocean basin as an educational vehicle through which to demonstrate the usefulness of a set of mathematical techniques in analysing the equation. A parameter occurring in the equation does in reality vary from very small through…

A novel course, "Participation in Research Program (PRP)" in life sciences is open for 1st to 3rd year undergraduates. PRP introduces the principles of a variety of biological methods and techniques and also offers an opportunity to explore some specific knowledge in more detail prior to thesis research. In addition, the PRP introduces some…