Students come to the classroom with theories that they have actively constructed from their everyday experiences. However, some of these theories are incomplete half-truths. Although such misconceptions interfere with new learning, students are often emotionally and intellectually attached to them. Some common mathematical misconceptions involve:…

Considered is a conceptual analog of buggy algorithms and rule-based mathematical development. The investigations consider whether children's efforts to make conceptual sense of new mathematics instruction in terms of their available knowledge may sometimes lead them to make systematic errors. In particular, the possibility is explored that…

Reported are data from the first individual interview conducted in 1978 as part of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. The research program is attempting to relate pupil performance on selected arithmetic skills to pupil cognitive processes, instructional materials, and teachers' classroom behaviors. From three…

Reported are data from the second individual interview conducted in 1979 as part of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. From three schools in Wisconsin that used the Developing Mathematical Processes program, l50 first-grade children were individually administered six problem types (two solvable by addition and…

Data are reported from the third individual interview conducted in 1979 as part of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. From three schools in Wisconsin that used the Developing Mathematical Processes program, l50 first-grade children were individually administered six problem types (two solvable by addition and…

Data are reported from the fourth individual interview conducted in 1979 as part of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. Ninety-nine second-grade children in two schools in Wisconsin that used the Developing Mathematical Processes program were individually administered six problem types (two solvable by addition…

Data are reported from the fifth individual interview conducted in 1980 as part of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. Ninety-six second-grade children in two schools in Wisconsin that used the Developing Mathematical Processes program were individually administerd six problem types (two solvable by addition…

Data are reported from the first and second individual interviews conducted in 1980 in the second phase of a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. The second phase is concerned with children's performance on verbal addition and subtraction problems which contain two-digit numbers, half of which require regrouping…

Data are reported from the eighth individual interview conducted in 1981 with students participating in a 3-year study on addition and subtraction using verbal problem solving. Ninety-two third-grade children in two schools in Wisconsin that used the Developing Mathematical Processes program were individually administered l8 verbal problems that…

The investigation reported is primarily a description of how college students solve or fail to solve algebra equations. Protocols were collected from two groups of college students; one group was expected to be good solvers, the other group contained many poor solvers. The investigators sought to identify and classify the difficulties students…

A model of qualities of mathematical activity was developed within a framework of learning goals. A clinical application of the model is described, in which ninth-grade students were given assignment projects. A hierarchy of effective guidance was established, permitting diagnostic evaluation and progressive development of mathematical activity.…

How computers have affected diagnosis in mathematics is discussed. A distinction is made between errors and mistakes, followed by consideration of computers as a diagnostic tool. The development of algorithms to diagnose errors and of models of student performance is described. (MNS)

Analysis of errors children make is modeled both with and without computers. Patterns of thinking are traced for a fifth grader, with the discussion focused on getting clues for remedial instruction by analyzing the dialog. (MNS)

Instructional strategies that will develop the concept of a fraction are presented. Fractions as counting numbers, measures, and subdivisions are included, with a combination of regions and number lines suggested as a teaching aid. (MNS)

Results from an English assessment of achievement on two geometric topics, line symmetry and angles, are reported. Contrasts in the patterns of responses to related items, and to the same items by pupils aged 11 or 15, are highlighted. (MNS)