This study explored student mathematical activity in open problem-solving situations, derived from the work of Polya on problem solving and Skemp on intelligent learning and teaching. Assignment projects with problems for ninth-grade students were developed, whether they elicit the desired cognitive and cogno-affective goals was investigated, and…

This paper, based on the inquiries of the General Mathematics Project, makes a case for naturalistic research in mathematics classrooms. In explicating the case, consideration is given to the need for information on classroom practices and the consequence of those practices on teaching and learning. Also considered is the need for research that…

A case study is presented on what is learned by a very advanced Math student in a ninth grade class (fifteen years old, approximately). This case was obtained from an exploratory study carried out in a classroom of eighteen students when the employment of certain cultural artifacts was introduced to approach the theme of basic geometrical…

The Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) underscore both the mandate and the challenge of assuring that English Language Learners (ELLs) achieve the same high standards of performance that are expected of their native English speaking peers. The intent indeed is laudable: states, districts, schools, and teachers…

To investigate collaborative learning with multimedia, four groups of three ninth-grade math students worked for one hour with a multimedia package presenting the relationships between distance, speed, and time. Interactions were videotaped and transcribed. Groups engaging in cycles of observation, reflection, discussion, and feedback were seen to…

This study examined whether U.S., Australian, and Swedish grade 9 male and female students' beliefs about themselves as learners of mathematics and English/Swedish differed. The cohort of grade 9 students from one coeducational school in each country participated in the study. Questionnaires were distributed in the three countries and contained…

Interest may be conceptualized as a variable which affects both motivational and cognitive activity. The purpose of this study was to systematically apply a theoretical model of interest to a classroom setting and explore whether students' interest in mathematics could be increased. The theoretical model of interest is presented and followed by…

A practicum developed a program of study skills to improve grades of ninth and tenth grade students in English and mathematics courses. The project contained three basic components: teacher inservices on study skills techniques in time management, reading textbooks, taking class notes, and preparing for and taking tests; student lessons for…

THE TRANSFER EFFECTS OF DISCOVERY AND EXPOSITORY INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR SEQUENCING OF INSTRUCTION WERE THE PURPOSE OF THIS TWO-PART STUDY. THE FIRST STUDY COMPARED THE TWO PROCEDURES IN A PROGRAMED UNIT ON SUMMING NUMBER SERIES. SAMPLES FOR THIS PART OF THE STUDY CONSISTED OF 96 NINTH-GRADE ALGEBRA STUDENTS, WHO WERE ASSIGNED TO EITHER OF…

The first section of this issue briefly reviews the initial phase of Project Solo--an attempt to develop new approaches to mathematics education. Some limitations of the project are also discussed. Following this, the relation of such computer-based activities to math education is presented, including the researchers' belief that in grades 8…

This study investigated the performance of 14 Hispanic and Anglo ninth graders on several problem-solving tasks, with the focus on the interplay of language-related factors in translating several mathematical statements expressing relationships among variables into mathematical equations. (MNS)

The handling of mistakes in the mathematics classroom is an area in which only little research is done so far. In mathematics education there are, in fact, several investigations about students' mistakes from a diagnostic perspective, but hardly any studies on the question how teachers react in concrete mathematics lessons. In this article…

In this paper we focus on the role of signs in students' perceptive processes underpinning the generalization of numeric-geometric patterns. Based on a videotaped Grade 9 classroom group activity undertaken by three students and framed by a cultural-semiotic theoretical perspective, we carry out a microgenetic analysis of an elementary form of…

In the framework of a long term teaching experiment we present an Educational approach based on the use of a dynamic geometry software and a symbolic manipulator. Here we present the general ideas of the followed approach focusing on how meanings can originate from phenomenological experience and evolve under the guidance of the teacher. In…

Describes a program to improve mathematical skills of off-track students through a partnership among a university, public school, local telephone company, and the community (including families and social agencies). Shows significant improvements in students' academic achievement, and notes that all of the teachers felt the social work aspect had a…