This dissertation examines two information-structural phenomena, Givenness and Focus, from the perspective of both syntax and pragmatics. Evidence from English, German and other languages suggests a "split" analysis of information structure--the notions of Focus and Givenness, often thought to be closely related, exist independently at…

Researchers interested in exploring substantive group differences are increasingly attending to bundles of items (or testlets): the aim is to understand how gender differences, for instance, are explained by differential performances on different types or bundles of items, hence differential bundle functioning (DBF). Some previous work has…

"Who has been to Dairy Queen® and purchased a Blizzard?®" Ms. Bosetti asked her students. During the summer, Bosetti had seen many of her former and future students at the local Dairy Queen enjoying Blizzard desserts and wondered, "Which Blizzard size is the best value?" She used this context for a ratios and proportions task…

An important question for mathematics teachers is this: "How can we help students learn mathematics to solve everyday problems, rather than teaching them only to memorize rules and practice mathematical procedures?" Teaching students using modeling activities can help them learn mathematics in real-world problem-solving situations that…

General problem-solving skills are of central importance in school mathematics achievement. Word problems play an important role not just in mathematical education, but in general education as well. Meaningful learning and understanding are basic aspects of all kinds of learning and it is even more important in the case of learning mathematics. In…

A concept of major importance in human electrophysiology studies is the process by which activation of an excitable cell results in a rapid rise and fall of the electrical membrane potential, the so-called action potential. Hodgkin and Huxley proposed a model to explain the ionic mechanisms underlying the formation of action potentials. However,…

The aim of this study is to identify prospective secondary mathematics teachers' opinions about the mathematical modeling method and the applicability of this method in high schools. The case study design, which is among the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The study was conducted with six prospective secondary mathematics…

With the adoption of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), the process of mathematical modeling has been given increased attention in mathematics education. This article reports on a study intended to inform the implementation of modeling in classroom contexts by examining students' interactions with the process of…

To develop second-grade students' confidence and ease, this author presents examples of learning tasks (Number of the Day, Word Problem Solving, and Modeling New Mathematical Ideas) that align with Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and that build mathematical fluency to promote students' creative expression of mathematical…

The study described herein is part of a larger, inclusive research study exploring the effects of model-eliciting activities (MEAs) of "real-life" situations on the development of students' mathematical creativity. This part aim at revealing students' cognitive abilities that are involved in the creative modeling processes using a…

The logistic map is one of the simplest nonlinear dynamical systems that clearly exhibits the route to chaos. In this paper, we explore the evolution of the logistic map using an open-source microcontroller connected to an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We divide the one-dimensional domain interval [0,1] into ten equal parts, an associate…

There are some mathematical learning models of collaborative learning, with which we can learn how students obtain knowledge and we expect to design effective education. We put together those models and classify into three categories; model by differential equations, so-called Ising spin and a stochastic process equation. Some of the models do not…

Mathematical modeling of groundwater flow is a topic at the intersection of mathematics and geohydrology and is rarely encountered in undergraduate mathematics. However, this subject is full of interesting and meaningful examples of truly "applied" mathematics accessible to undergraduates, from the pre-calculus to advanced mathematics levels. This…

Systems Biology, one of the current approaches to the understanding of living things, aims to understand the behaviour of living systems through the creation of mathematical models that integrate the available knowledge of the system's component parts and the relations among them. Accordingly, model building should play a central part in any…

In 2 studies, the authors examined the development of the relationship between inductive reasoning and visual recognition memory. In both studies, 5- to 6-year-old children and adults were shown instances of a basic-level category (dogs) followed by a test set containing old and new category members that varied in their similarity to study items.…