Background: Research has shown that mathematics anxiety negatively correlates with primary school mathematics performance, including fraction knowledge. However, recently no significant correlation was found between fraction arithmetic performance and state anxiety measured after the fraction task. One possible explanation is the natural number…

Pirie & Kieren (1994b) states that conceptual understanding in human beings is divided into eight levels. This qualitative and descriptive research study aims to identify the layers of conceptual understanding of fractions through three representations, namely of circles, rectangles, and number lines. The subjects of this research are three…

Pre-algebra mathematical competencies were assessed for a large and diverse sample of sixth graders (n = 1,926), including whole number and fractions arithmetic, conceptual understanding of equality and fractions magnitudes, and the fractions number line. The goal was to determine if there were clusters of students with similar patterns of…

People's attitudes toward mathematics are multifaceted. Across four studies, we found that children and adults have different attitudes about mathematics when asked specifically about whole numbers, as opposed to fractions. The vast majority of children and adults reported negative attitudes toward fractions despite having positive attitudes…

Self-efficacy in mathematics is related to engagement, persistence, and academic performance. Prior research focused mostly on examining changes to students' self-efficacy across large time intervals (months or years), and paid less attention to changes at the level of lesson sequences. Knowledge of how self-efficacy changes during a sequence of…

People's attitudes toward mathematics are multifaceted. Across four studies, we found that children and adults have different attitudes about mathematics when asked specifically about whole numbers, as opposed to fractions. The vast majority of children and adults reported negative attitudes toward fractions despite having positive attitudes…

This study uses information about in-game strategy use, identified through cluster analysis of actions in an educational video game, to make data-driven modifications to the game in order to reduce construct-irrelevant behavior. The examination of student strategies identified through cluster analysis indicated that (a) it was common for students…