Improving mathematics and science education in the United States has been a matter of national concern for over half a century. Psychology has a vital role to play in this enterprise. In this article, the authors review the kinds of contributions that psychology can make in four areas: (a) early understanding of mathematics, (b) understanding of science, (c) social and motivational aspects of i...

VISUM the (VI)rtual (S)ystem for Ed(U)cation in (M)athematics is a fast growing knowledge base containing material about teaching mathematics (URL: http://visum2.uni-muenster.de). The project is funded by German ministry of science and education with 1.6 Million Euro and will cover mathematical as well a didactical content for the education of student teachers from primary to higher secondary l...

This review examines two recent collective publications that set out to survey and synthesise knowledge in the field of mathematics teacher education. Both allude to the timeliness of such an enterprise given the growth and institutionalisation of research in this field since the early to mid 1990s. They feature an extensive (and often overlapping) authorship drawn from active researchers in th...

This paper describes the recent development of hand-held algebraic calculators and evaluates their significance for secondary education. Sophisticated computer algebra systems (CAS) have been available to mathematicians for some years now but have been too powerful, too sophisticated and too expensive and have required too much access to powerful computers to have had much impact on teaching an...

In this theoretical paper figurative aspects of algebraic symbolism are discussed and related to the theory of image schemata, opening up for one way of understanding the development of symbol sense in mathematics. The ideas of mathematical forms (referring to spatial characteristics of mathematical formulas), and form operations, are at the core of this analysis.

The use of ‘‘concrete manipulatives’’ in mathematics education is supported by research and often accepted as a sine qua non of ‘‘reform’’ approaches. This article reviews the research on the use of manipulatives and critiques common notions regarding concrete manipulatives. It presents a reformulation of the definition of concrete as used in educational psychology and educational research and ...

In the first part of this article, we describe the basic objectives of the math curriculum in Spain as well as the basic contents, teacher resources, and obstacles perceived in mathematics instruction. Second, we briefly describe the concept of learning disabilities (LD) as they are currently defined in Spain. As stated in the recent educational reform, a student with LD is any student with spe...

For 25 years, we have been working to build cognitive models of mathematics, which have become a basis for middle- and high-school curricula. We discuss the theoretical background of this approach and evidence that the resulting curricula are more effective than other approaches to instruction. We also discuss how embedding a well specified theory in our instructional software allows us to dyna...