In this note we demonstrate two instances where matrix multiplication can be easily verified. In the first setting, the matrix product appears as matrix element concatenation, and in the second, the product coincides with matrix addition. General proofs for some results are provided with a more complete description for 2×2 matrices. Suggested for…

In prior work, we fit the mixture Rasch model to item responses from a fractions survey administered to a nationwide sample of middle grades mathematics teachers in the United States. The mixture Rasch model located teachers on a continuous, unidimensional scale and fit best with 3 latent classes. We used item response data to generate initial…

A 12-episode constructivist teaching experiment with two pairs of elementary preservice teachers was conducted to examine how they reason distributively and proportionally. Specifically, I studied how prospective teachers reason with ratios as multiplicative comparisons. Prospective teachers solved different problems in one specific context (Step…

Through a constructivist lens, this dissertation research (a case study) examines the problem of how elementary teachers' MKT might be related to their ways of implementing and adapting mathematical tasks to promote students' construction of multiplicative reasoning. In particular, this study addresses the following four research questions: 1.…

This paper frames children's mathematics as mathematics. Specifically, it draws upon our knowledge of children's mathematics and applies it to understanding the prime number theorem. Elementary school arithmetic emphasizes two principal operations: addition and multiplication. Through their units coordination activity, children construct two…

It is increasingly recognised that to be informed citizens and to participate fully in the workforce requires an understanding of statistical data and risk. Such understanding is underpinned by statistical reasoning. It has been shown, however, that students have difficulty moving from concrete representations and procedural mathematical…

Teachers need ways to efficiently assess students' cognitive understanding. One promising approach involves easily adapted and administered item types that yield quantitative scores that can be interpreted in terms of whether or not students likely possess key understandings. This study illustrates an approach to analyzing response process…

The aim of this study was to reveal 5th class middle school students' determination skills on the truth value of mathematical propositions about multiplication and division. These skills were evaluated in the context of operation meanings preferred and arguments constructed by the students in the process. The research group consisted of 95…

Combinatorial proof is an important topic both for combinatorics education and proof education researchers, but relatively little has been studied about the teaching and learning of combinatorial proof. In this paper, we focus on one specific phenomenon that emerged during interviews with mathematicians and students who were experienced provers as…

Several studies have shown that children do not only erroneously use additive reasoning in proportional word problems, but also erroneously use proportional reasoning in additive word problems. Traditionally, these errors were contributed to a lack of calculation and discrimination skills. Recent research evidence puts forward an additional…

How can students achieve an understanding of multiplication that allows them to go beyond recall to explain their thinking? Author and mathematics education professor Juli Dixon introduces a program that teachers can seamlessly integrate into existing mathematics instruction. Learn six tactics to help you shift from an anxiety-producing,…

Understanding the concept of area requires an understanding of the relationship between geometry and multiplication. The multiplicative reasoning required to find the areas of regular figures is used in many courses in elementary mathematical education. This paper explores various methods in which multiplicative reasoning is incorporated into the…

We examine a hypothesis implied by Steffe's constructivist model of children's numerical reasoning: a child's "spontaneous" additive strategy may relate to a foundational form of multiplicative reasoning, termed multiplicative double counting (mDC). To this end, we mix quantitative and qualitative analyses of 31 fourth graders' responses…

The aim of this study was to examine the proportional reasoning skills of seventh-grade students before and after the implementation of STEM activities involving proportional and non-proportional relationships. Case study, one of the qualitative study methods, was used in the research. The data for the study was obtained from eight students. Seven…

Within a study of student reasoning in abstract algebra, we encountered the claim "division and multiplication are the same operation." What might prompt a student to make this claim? What kind of influence might believing it have on their mathematical development? We explored the philosophical roots of "sameness" claims to…