Using a mixed methods approach, we explore a relationship between students' graph reasoning and graph selection via a fully online assessment. Our population includes 673 students enrolled in college algebra, an introductory undergraduate mathematics course, across four U.S. postsecondary institutions. The assessment is accessible on computers,…

This work explores the complex cognitive processes students engage in when addressing contextual tasks requiring linear and exponential models. Grounded within Piagetian constructivism and the Knowledge in Pieces (KiP) epistemological perspective (diSessa, 1993, 2018), this empirical study in a clinical setting develops a Microgenetic Learning…

Despite the prominence of analogies in mathematics, little attention has been given to exploring students' processes of analogical reasoning, and even less research exists on revealing how students might be empowered to independently and productively reason by analogy to establish new (to them) mathematics. I argue that the lack of a cohesive…

This study aims at elaborating a well-established theoretical framework that distinguishes three modes of thinking in linear algebra: the analytic-arithmetic, the synthetic-geometric, and the analytic-structural mode. It describes and analyzes the bundle of signs produced by an engineering student during an interview, where she was asked to recall…

Backward transfer is defined as the influence that new learning has on individuals' prior ways of reasoning. In this article, we report on an exploratory study that examined the influences that quadratic functions instruction in real classrooms had on students' prior ways of reasoning about linear functions. Two algebra classes and their teachers…

This work is the result of a pre-experiment carried out as part of a master's course, dealing with the study of the parabola through different mathematical views. It aims to recognize possible didactic obstacles in its teaching, based on intuitive manifestations in the resolution of a didactic situation based on GeoGebra software. The methodology…

Units coordination, defined by Steffe (1992) as the mental distribution of one composite unit (i.e., a unit of units) "over the elements of another composite unit" (p. 264) is a powerful tool for modeling students' mathematical thinking in the context of whole number and fractional reasoning. This paper proposes extending the idea of a…

Whilst educational goals in recent years for mathematics education are foregrounded the development of mathematical competencies, little is known about mathematics teachers' competencies. In this study, a group of practising teachers were asked to solve an algebra problem, and their solutions were analysed to determine the competencies apparent…

In this paper, I propose a new construct named "analytic equation sense" to conceptually model a desired way of reasoning that involves students' algebraic manipulations and use of equivalent expressions. Building from the analysis of two existing models in the field, I argue for the need for a new model and use empirical evidence to…

Productive engagement in fractional reasoning is essential for abstracting fundamental algebraic concepts vital to college and career success. Yet, data suggest students with learning disabilities (LDs), in particular, display pervasive shortfalls in learning and mastering fraction content. We argue that shortfalls in understanding are in fact…

The generality requirement, or the requirement that a proof must demonstrate a claim to be true for all cases within its domain, represents one of the most important, yet challenging aspects of proof for students to understand. This article presents a multi-faceted framework for identifying aspects of students' work that have the potential to…

The retention of foundational knowledge is crucial in learning and teaching mathematics. However, a significant part of university students do not achieve long-term knowledge and problem-solving skills. A possible tool to increase further retention is testing, the strategic use of retrieval to enhance memory. In this study, the effect of a special…

Recursive reasoning is a powerful tool used extensively in problem solving. For us, recursive reasoning includes iteration, sequences, difference equations, discrete dynamical systems, pattern identification, and mathematical induction; all of these can represent how things change, but in discrete jumps. Given the school mathematics curriculum's…

This paper presents data from the first of three iterations of teaching experiments conducted with secondary teachers. The purpose of the experiments was to investigate how teachers' combinatorial reasoning could support their development of algebraic structure, specifically structural relationships between the roots and coefficients of…

Cognitive processes are procedures for using existing knowledge to combine it with new knowledge and make decisions based on that knowledge. This study aims to identify the cognitive structure of students during information processing based on the level of algebraic reasoning ability. This type of research is qualitative with exploratory methods.…