Reasoning about mechanisms is one of the hallmarks of disciplined inquiry in science and engineering, but comparatively little is known about its precursors and development. Children at grades 2 and 5 predicted and explained the motion of simple mechanical systems composed entirely of visible linkages (levers). Students' explanations of device…

This classroom study supported and documented the emergence of multiple senses of mathematical similarity. Findings showed a shift toward modeling, which introduced an epistemological dissonance between mathematics and science. Postinstructional interviews suggested that most children came to appreciate the mathematical generalizations afforded by…

Investigated home-school alignment for primary grade mathematics reform. Three studies found that parents endorsed many reform classroom practices; in a comparison of word-problem scaffolding, parents gave more direct forms of assistance than did teachers; a pilot program to inform parents was effective--children whose parents participated scored…

Two experiments examined fifth-grade students' reasoning about data modeling: one involved development of hypermedia documents, the other, use of a simple randomization distribution to test students' hypotheses. Found that data construction and analysis provide an opportunity to involve students in the important enterprise of mathematical…