The author discusses the use of calculators in calculus classes and difficulties caused by roundoff errors. References for advanced follow-up topics are given. (Author/MK)

Discussed are the mathematical methods for detecting a variety of common error patterns within the bar-coded identification numbers utilized in conjunction with scanning devices. Schemes for the use of check digits are examined that ensure conditions for detecting errors of specific types, including single digit error, transposition error, twin…

Discusses two types of student writing problems: error characteristics (spelling, pronoun usage, subject-verb agreement, run-on sentences, and capitalization) and nonerror characteristics (density of ideas, variety of referents, and variety of expression). Suggests ways to diagnose and correct them. (HTH)

In this study, 35 students in two sections of a second remedial mathematics course for technical majors were given lectures with and without intentional errors. Achievement in the non-error group was higher, but evaluation scores for teachers making errors were higher. (MNS)

Discusses problems and patterns in student journalistic writing. (HOD)

Common problems encountered in teaching Chinese that involve classical, intentional malapropisms (learned errors) are discussed. Three aspects unique to Chinese are addressed: (1) since Chinese writing is logographic, some malapropisms occur because of similar graphs; (2) since many expressions come from classical Chinese, and instruction in…

Notes that the basic elements of the English article system are best taught to foreign technical writing students over an extended period of time. Outlines a teaching method that emphasizes reducing errors that native English speakers perceive as wrong rather than teaching the nuances by which native writers fine tune their relationship with their…

Attention is called to the apparent widespread misunderstanding of algebraic notation by secondary school students, and how this may arise from some common approaches to teaching algebra to beginners is discussed. (MNS)

Numerical inaccuracies, which occur in many ordinary computations, can create serious problems and render answers meaningless. Cancellation and accumulation errors are described, and suggestions for experimentation are discussed. (MNS)

A study of the holistic evaluation of writing compared holistic rating and the rating for "conformity to correct prose" technique, a technique based on error counting, of five essays representing five ability levels. The essays were produced in a college English-as-a-Second-Language program. The two scoring methods produced the same ranking of…

Seven graduate students in a seminar on classroom computing received instruction in LOGO programming. Programming protocols were collected periodically and examined for errors and misconceptions; in-depth interviews were conducted in order to understand specific misconceptions better. As novice students transit from instruction to experience in…

Nearly 48 percent of the students in Developmental Studies Mathematics courses at a major southern university during the fall of 1983 had taken college preparatory mathematics courses in high school. Some had even taken trigonometry, pre-calculus, or calculus. Yet, they were placed in university developmental studies mathematics courses because…

Explains an error analysis procedure using the computer which requires no previous student experience with the computer. (CP)

Considers "unpacking" or "deconstructing" sentences (the reverse of sentence combining) an effective teaching technique that helps students to develop clear predication and eliminate their tendency to use vague, confusing nominalized verbs. (RL)

Studies in 1974 and 1984 of errors in the writing of Australian university freshmen in a history course found no significant differences between the two groups. The most salient elements in the error-prone writing were less related to writing mechanics than to constitution of meaning, suggesting that grammar instruction is inadequate to improve…