Infinite series are known to be challenging for Calculus II students, perhaps because they lack intellectual need for the content. In their analysis of Calculus textbooks found few instances of potential intellectual needs for infinite series. This study combines a textbook analysis with interviews of four professors and observations of their…

Point-set topology is among the most abstract branches of mathematics in that it lacks tangible notions of distance, length, magnitude, order, and size. There is no shape, no geometry, no algebra, and no direction. Everything we are used to visualizing is gone. In the teaching and learning of mathematics, this can present a conundrum. Yet, this…

"Find the extreme values of the function." "At what rate is the distance between A and B increasing after 12 seconds?" Prompts like these can be heard in most first-semester calculus courses. Unfortunately, these cues also tend to prompt students' eyes to glaze over with thoughts of "When will I ever use this?" This…

College students enrolling in the calculus sequence have a wide variance in their preparation and abilities, yet they are usually taught from the same lecture. We describe another pedagogical model of Individualized Additional Instruction (IAI) that assesses each student frequently and prescribes further instruction and homework based on the…

This study investigated the comparative efficiency of Web-based instruction (WBI) and traditional teaching methods on preservice teachers' fraction knowledge. Students' knowledge of fractions was measured using a Fraction Knowledge Test. The test consisted of 32 items and was administered as pre- and posttests to a total of 42 preservice teachers…

University entrance examinations in China are described. Then the 1985 test is presented. (MNS)

A project is described that provides explicit instruction on the skills necessary for solving word problems. An informal inventory of such skills is being developed, intended for diagnostic use. It contains six sections, each keyed to the problem-solving skills of understanding the problem, representing the unknown, writing the equation, and…

Results obtained when a procedure for assessing the questions on uniersity mathematics examinations to see what skills were needed for their solution are given for a sample of 1400 questions set during 1976 in 10 British universities. The method is a way of focusing rational argument. (MNS)

This paper proposes an hypothsis describing how some college students incorrectly view semantically laden letters and provides both clinical and written data that supports that hypothesis. Several word problems were given to nine college math students. These students were then interviewed as they attempted to solve these problems. In addition to…

Arizona State University uses the Computer-Administered Mathematics Examination to identify preservice teachers who need mathematics remediation. Reported are the results of the testing of several groups of students. Some of the students were retested after remediation. (RH)

This ex-post facto, quasi-experimental study was conducted to determine whether students taught nursing math in the classroom did better than students who did not take the nursing math course in the classroom. First-year students enrolled in the Long Beach City College Associate Degree Nursing Program were selected as the treatment sample. Thirty…

In an attempt to explore the prevalence, intensity and effects of mathematics anxiety at Salisbury State College (Maryland) approximately 350 student volunteers from two diverse introductory mathematics courses participated in this survey. The Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Anxiety and Confidence Scales and a portion of the Test Anxiety Profile were…

To gather information for its response to the issue whether to allow the use of hand-held calculators on standardized mathematics tests, the staff at Educational Testing Service (ETS), under the sponsorship of the College Board, developed a questionnaire to poll teachers of college-level mathematics about calculator and microcomputer use in…

This course guide for calculus offered at the high school level begins with an overview of the course. The overview includes a rationale for including calculus in the high school curriculum, a description and rationale of calculator and computer use in the calculus class, the desired qualifications and characteristics of calculus teachers,…

Descriptions of Papua New Guinea's national high schools, grade 12 major/minor mathematics courses, and an analysis of the 1980 and 1981 major/minor course examination results are presented. The analysis is intended for use by post year 12 lecturers/instructors planning their courses. Findings indicate that topic scores were far too low for these…