An attempt is made to elaborate on the connections and differences between the objective and subjective elements of mathematical knowledge using case study analysis relative to how an epistemological perspective about probability and randomness impacts upon a short classroom teaching episode. (19 references) (Author/JJK)

Discussed are possible reasons behind the inconsistencies in the learning of calculus. Implicated are students' beliefs, mathematical paradigms including concept image and concept definition, language use, and curriculum sequencing. (KR)

The product of a study documenting the classroom writing behavior of three kindergarten and three second grade students, this research report focuses on the kindergarten data. Following an introductory chapter describing the theoretical assumptions underlying the project, the research questions posed, and the provisions made to insure reliable and…

This issue of "Investigations in Mathematics Education" contains: (1) 12 abstracts of research studies in mathematics education; (2) a list (by EJ number) of mathematics education research studies reported in the July-to-December 1984 issues of "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE); and (3) a list (by ED number) of…

Several studies of the validity of the intensive time-series design have revealed a post-intervention increase in the level of achievement data (the "momentum effect"). Reports on the development and use of a technique to study the effect as it is observed in several data sets on the learning of plate tectonics. (Author/JN)

Reasons for poor performance in mathematics by students in the United States are discussed. According to the authors, too many students never experience arithmetic at a physical, concrete level. Students are drilled in arithmetic facts without any meaningful context and are given few opportunities to use numerical concepts in real-life…

Investigates the relevance and concomitant impact of sociocultural experiences upon the scientific literacy of 87 students, aged 13 to 16, concerning their comprehension and assimilation of scientific data involving solar eclipses. Results indicate that the students' nonscientific conceptions about solar eclipses, generated through sociocultural…

This digest addresses cognitive learning with respect to outside-the-classroom instruction at the elementary school level. It notes that affective, not cognitive, learning has traditionally been the primary objective of field instruction at all K-12 levels. Therefore, most educational research in field instruction has been mainly non-cognitive in…

Beneath educational pedagogies lie philosophical assumptions about the nature of learning, knowledge, truth and morality. These different philosophies form the foundations of a variety of instructional programs in all academic disciplines. This paper addresses constructivism, a recent attempt to provide a philosophical pedagogy which affects…

This study compared the effectiveness of teaching multidigit addition of whole numbers without regrouping prior to teaching it with regrouping to teaching multidigit addition with and without regrouping simultaneously. Pretest/posttest-delayed posttest results of second grade students (n=151) from seven randomly assigned classrooms indicated no…

The terms and concepts children used to explain their beliefs about computers before and after classroom exposure to microcomputers were studied to identify misconceptions about computers that could interfere with computer-based learning. Children in each of two classrooms at the Bank Street School for Children were interviewed individually on…

Abstracts of most of the papers, symposia, discussion groups, round tables, and poster sessions presented at the 64th conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) are provided. Subject areas addressed are as follows: teacher knowledge, cognitive development, conceptual change, curriculum issues, reform in science…

This is volume 4 of the series of translations of books from the Soviet literature on research in the psychology of mathematics instruction and on teaching methods influenced by the research. The introduction to this English language translation highlights the fact that significant advances have been made in the understanding of both the…

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques are presented for six studies dealing with concept formation and misconceptions and for five studies dealing with cognitive development. The first six studies investigated: children's naive conceptions of the human body; students' understanding (or misunderstanding) of states of matter and density changes; the…

Discussed are the issues of inconsistencies and compartmentalization and the use of inconsistencies in the classroom. Included are discussions on paradoxes, the naive student, logical reasoning ability, and the development of the students' cognitive structures. (KR)