Reading mathematics for understanding—From novice to expert

As students progress through the college mathematics curriculum, enter graduate school and eventually become practicing mathematicians, reading mathematics textbooks and journal articles appears to become easier and leads to increased proficiency and understanding. This study was designed to begin to understand how mathematically more advanced readers read for understanding in mathematical exposition as it appears in textbooks compared to first-year undergraduate students. Three faculty members and three graduate students participated in this study and read from a first-year graduate textbook in an area of mathematics unfamiliar to each of them. The observed reading strategies of these more mathematically advanced readers are compared to observed reading strategies of first-year undergraduate students from an earlier study. The reading methods of the faculty level mathematicians were all quite similar and were markedly different from those that have been identified for undergraduate students, as well as from those used by the graduate students in this study. A Mathematics Reading Framework is proposed based on this study and previous research documenting the strategies that first-year undergraduate students use for reading exposition in their mathematics textbooks.     

Reasoning-and-Proving in School Mathematics Textbooks

Despite widespread agreement that the activity of reasoning-and-proving should be central to all students' mathematical experiences, many students face serious difficulties with this activity. Mathematics textbooks can play an important role in students' opportunities to engage in reasoning-and-proving: research suggests that many decisions that teachers make about what tasks to implement in their classrooms and when and how to implement them are mediated by the textbooks they use. Yet, little is known about how reasoning-and-proving is promoted in school mathematics textbooks. In this article, I present an analytic/methodological approach for the examination of the opportunities designed in mathematics textbooks for students to engage in reasoning-and-proving. In addition, I exemplify the utility of the approach in an examination of a strategically selected American mathematics textbook series. I use the findings from this examination as a context to discuss issues of textbook design in the domain of reasoning-and-proving that pertain to any textbook series.     

Epistemological messages conveyed by three high-school and college mathematics textbooks

Mathematics textbooks embody a particular set of assumptions about mathematics or the mathematics intended for students at a particular level. Thus, an epistemological analysis of textbooks can provide some context for understanding, for example, the difficulties many students encounter when moving from high-school to collegiate mathematics. In this study, we consider how typical pre-calculus, calculus, and analysis texts treat the topic of continuity. We find that these texts send conflicting messages regarding the status and purpose of mathematical definitions.     

Approach to mathematics in textbooks at tertiary level – exploring authors’ views about their texts

The aim of this article is to present and discuss some results from an inquiry into mathematics textbooks authors’ visions about their texts and approaches they choose when new concepts are introduced. Authors’ responses are discussed in relation to results about students’ difficulties with approaching calculus reported by previous research. A questionnaire has been designed and sent to seven authors of the most used calculus textbooks in Norway and four authors have responded. The responses show that the authors mainly view teaching in terms of transmission so they focus mainly on getting the mathematical content correct and ‘clear’. The dominant view is that the textbook is intended to help the students to learn by explaining and clarifying. The authors prefer the approach to introduce new concepts based on the traditional way of perceiving mathematics as a system of definitions, examples and exercises. The results of this study may enhance our understanding of the role of the textbook at tertiary level. They may also form a foundation for further research.     

An investigation of teachers’ intentions and reflections about using Standards-based and traditional textbooks in the classroom

This study analyzed teachers’ intentions for and reflections on their use of Standards-based [Connected Mathematics Program (CMP)] textbooks and traditional (non-CMP) mathematics textbooks to guide instruction. In this investigation of the interplay between textbooks and instruction, we focused on learning goals, instructional tasks, teachers’ anticipation of students’ difficulties, and their perceptions of students’ achievement of learning goals. All of these are aspects of teachers’ intentions and reflections that have proved fruitful in comparing the roles of the CMP and non-CMP mathematics textbooks in our Longitudinal Investigation of the Effect of Curriculum on Algebra Learning project. Whereas the cognitive level of the teachers’ intended learning goals appeared generally to reflect the emphases of their respective textbooks, we found that the CMP teachers’ intended learning goals were not as well aligned with the CMP textbooks as the non-CMP teachers’ learning goals were aligned with their non-CMP textbooks. The CMP and non-CMP teachers’ implementations of the lessons seemed to reduce the degree of difference between the cognitive levels of their intended goals. Even so, we found that significantly more CMP lessons than non-CMP lessons were implemented at a high level of cognitive demand. Although the non-CMP teachers’ intended learning goals were better aligned with their textbook’s learning goals, we found that the CMP teachers were more likely than the non-CMP teachers to follow the guidance of their textbooks in designing and selecting instructional tasks for a lesson. Future research should consider other aspects of teachers’ intentions and reflections that may shed a broader light on the role of textbooks and curriculum materials in teachers’ crafting of instructional experiences for their students.     

The State of Proof in Finnish and Swedish Mathematics Textbooks—Capturing Differences in Approaches to Upper-Secondary Integral Calculus

Students’ difficulties with proof, scholars’ calls for proof to be a consistent part of K-12 mathematics, and the extensive use of textbooks in mathematics classrooms motivate investigations on how proof-related items are addressed in mathematics textbooks. We contribute to textbook research by focusing on opportunities to learn proof-related reasoning in integral calculus, a key subject in transitioning from secondary to tertiary education. We analyze expository sections and nearly 2000 students’ exercises in the four most frequently used Finnish and Swedish textbook series. Results indicate that Finnish textbooks offer more opportunities for learning proof than do Swedish textbooks. Proofs are also more visible in Finnish textbooks than in Swedish materials, but the tasks in the latter reflect a higher variation in nature of proof-related reasoning. Our results are compared with methodologically similar U.S. studies. Consequences for learning and transition to university mathematics, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.     

Electronic vs. paper textbook presentations of the various aspects of mathematics

Based in part on our work in adapting existing paper textbooks for secondary schools for a digital format, this paper discusses paper form and the various electronic platforms with regard to the presentation of five aspects of mathematics that have roles in mathematics learning in all the grades kindergarten-12: symbolization, deduction, modeling, algorithms, and representations. In moving to digital platforms, each of these aspects of mathematics presents its own challenges and opportunities for both curriculum and instruction, that is, for the content goals and how they connect with students for learning. A combination of paper and electronic presentations may be an optimal solution but some difficulties with such a complex solution are presented.     

Opportunity to learn problem solving in Dutch primary school mathematics textbooks

In the Netherlands, mathematics textbooks are a decisive influence on the enacted curriculum. About a decade ago, Dutch primary school mathematics textbooks provided hardly any opportunities to learn problem solving. In this study we investigated whether this provision has changed. In order to do so, we carried out a textbook analysis in which we established to what degree current textbooks provide non-routine problem-solving tasks for which students do not immediately have a particular solution strategy at their disposal. We also analyzed to what degree textbooks provide ‘gray-area’ tasks, which are not really non-routine problems, but are also not straightforwardly solvable. In addition, we inventoried other ways in which present textbooks facilitate the opportunity to learn problem solving. Finally, we researched how inclusive these textbooks are with respect to offering opportunities to learn problem solving for students with varying mathematical abilities. The results of our study show that the opportunities that the currently most widely used Dutch textbooks offer to learn problem solving are very limited, and these opportunities are mainly offered in materials meant for more able students. In this regard, Dutch mainstream textbooks have not changed compared to the situation a decade ago. A textbook that is the Dutch edition of a Singapore mathematics textbook stands out in offering the highest number of problem-solving tasks, and in offering these in the materials meant for all students. However, in the ways this textbook facilitates the opportunity to learn problem solving, sometimes a tension occurs concerning the creative character of genuine problem solving.     

Problematic topics in first-year mathematics: lecturer and student views

In this paper we report on the outcomes of two surveys carried out in higher education institutions of Ireland; one of students attending first-year undergraduate non-specialist mathematics modules and another of their lecturers. The surveys aimed to identify the topics that these students found difficult, whether they had most difficulty with the concepts or procedures involved in the topics, and the resources they used to overcome these difficulties. In this paper we focus on the mathematical concepts and procedures that students found most difficult. While there was agreement between students and lecturers on certain problematic topics, this was not uniform across all topics, and students rated their conceptual understanding higher than their ability to do questions, in contrast to lecturers’ opinions.     

Visualization in Mathematics Learning: Arithmetic Problem-Solving and Student Difficulties

The role that visualization plays in mathematical learning is still unclear in spite of much research. In this research study, a group of students with mathematics difficulties was divided in two on the basis of their visuo-spatial abilities. There was no difference between the mathematical performance of the two groups when assessed on standard mathematical tests, but one group had higher visuo-spatial skills than the other. The individuals were then interviewed, during which, they were given arithmetic word problems to be solved in three different presentations: orally; with a picture; and with a diagram. The results show that the group with the higher visuo-spatial skills performed significantly better on these problems, and some possible reasons are discussed with implications of this finding for mathematics learning.     

Factors shaping mathematics lecturers’ service teaching in different departments

In this article we focus on university lecturers’ approaches to the service teaching and factors that influence their approaches. We present data obtained from the interviews with 19 mathematics and three physics lecturers along with the observations of two mathematics lecturers’ calculus courses. The findings show that lecturers’ approaches to teaching the same topic vary across departments; that is, they consciously privilege different aspects of mathematics, set different questions on examinations and follow different textbooks while teaching in different departments. We discuss factors influencing lecturers’ decision of what (mathematics) to teach in different departments and offer educational implications for service mathematics teaching in terms of students’ mathematical needs and the role of mathematics for client students.     

Teiji Takagi, Founder of the Japanese School of Modern Mathematics

This article is a brief historical report on Teiji Takagi which was prepared at the commencement of ‘Takagi Lectures’ of The Mathematical Society of Japan. The first of its two purposes is to give some informations on the circumstances of education and research of mathematics in Japan surrounding Takagi who could finally established himself as the founder of the Japanese school of modern mathematics. The other is a brief overview on Takagi’s works of mathematics some of which are still attractive to and influential on especially ambitious students of mathematics. The author hopes that careful readers may find some hints for the questions how and why Takagi was able to establish his class field theory. At the end of this article the readers will find an English translation of the preface of his book Algebraic theory of numbers (in Japanese) which is the only thing that he left for us to see his total view over class field theory after the establishment of Artin’s reciprocity law.     

疫情防控期间自主学习能力在大学生学习数学过程中的显著作用

本文阐明了 自主学习能力在大学生学习过程中的重要性,并论述了数学学科的四大特点.提出在疫情停课不停学时期,大学生只有充分增强学习的自主性,才能克服"数学难"的困难,从而提高数学成绩.相应的例子又具体说明了数学学习必须以自主学习为基础.     

Overcoming intuitive interference in mathematics: insights from behavioral, brain imaging and intervention studies

It is well known that many students encounter difficulties when solving problems in mathematics. Research indicates that some of these difficulties may stem from intuitive interference with formal/logical reasoning. Our research aims at deepening the understanding of these difficulties and their underlying reasoning mechanisms to help students overcome them. For this purpose we carried out behavioral, brain imaging and intervention studies focusing on a previously demonstrated obstacle in mathematics education. The literature reports that many students believe that shapes with a larger area must have a larger perimeter. We measured the accuracy of responses, reaction time, and neural correlates (by fMRI) while participants compared the perimeters of geometrical shapes in two conditions: (1) congruent, in which correct response was in line with intuitive reasoning (larger area–larger perimeter) and (2) incongruent, in which the correct answer was counterintuitive. In the incongruent condition, accuracy dropped and reaction time for correct responses was longer than in the congruent condition. The congruent condition activated bilateral parietal brain areas, known to be involved in the comparison of quantities, while correctly answering the incongruent condition activated bilateral prefrontal areas known for their executive control over other brain regions. The intervention, during which students’ attention was drawn to the relevant variable, increased accuracy in the incongruent condition, while reaction times increased in both congruent and incongruent conditions. The findings of the three studies point to the importance of control mechanisms in overcoming intuitive interference in mathematics. Overall, it appears that adding a cognitive neuroscience perspective to mathematics education research can contribute to a better understanding of students’ difficulties and reasoning processes. Such information is important for educational research and practice.     

A Comparative Analysis of the Addition and Subtraction of Fractions in Textbooks from Three Countries

In this paper, we report on a comparison of the treatment of addition and subtraction of fractions in primary mathematics textbooks used in Cyprus, Ireland, and Taiwan. To this end, we use a framework specifically developed to investigate the learning opportunities afforded by the textbooks, particularly with respect to the presentation of the content and the textbook expectations as manifested in the associated tasks. We found several similarities and differences among the textbooks regarding the topics included and their sequencing, the constructs of fractions, the worked examples, the cognitive demands of the tasks, and the types of responses required of students. The findings emphasized the need to examine textbooks in order to understand differences in instruction and achievement across countries. Indeed, we postulate that within a given country there may exist a recognizable “textbook signature.” We also draw on the results and the challenges inherent in our analysis to provide suggestions and directions for future textbook analysis studies.     

Detecting Students' Experiences of Discontinuities Between Middle School and High School Mathematics Programs: Learning During Boundary Crossing

Transitions from middle school to high school mathematics programs can be problematic for students due to potential differences between instructional approaches and curriculum materials. Given the minimal research on how students experience such differences, we report on the experiences of two students as they moved out of an integrated, problem-based mathematics program in their middle school into a high school mathematics program that emphasized procedural fluency. We conducted an average of two interviews per year for two and a half years with participants and engaged in participant-observation at their high school. In this study, we illustrate an analytic process for detecting discontinuities between settings from participants' perspectives. We determined that students experienced a discontinuity if they reported meaningful differences between settings (frequent mention, in detail, with emphasis terms) and concurrently reported a change in attitude. Additionally, these students' experiences illustrate two opportunities to learn during boundary-crossing experiences: identification and reflection.     

Studying textbooks in an information age—a United States perspective

This paper discusses issues centered around three topics related to studying textbooks in an information age. First considered are the multiple roles of textbooks, from a source of content and questions to a vehicle for changing the curriculum. Second are some of the lessons we have learned from studies comparing student performance with different textbooks within the United States, including the recognition that a common test given to students using two different curricula cannot cover the differences between the curricula and still be fair to all the students. Third is the consideration of textbooks as a delivery system and their comparison with electronic delivery of curriculum, including a discussion of the overt nature of textbooks as compared to the covert nature of electronic systems. We distinguish this use of electronic devices from the use of computers and calculators to do mathematics. Finally, predictions are given regarding the future of textbooks in an age of electronic delivery systems. The perspective of this paper is from the United States and based on the author’s four decades of experience directing studies of instruction and student performance with different mathematics textbooks.     

工科院校一年级新生数学教学对策

在高中教育逐步得到普及,高等教育不断扩招的情况下,对淮海工学院大学一年级新生数学学习的实际状况进行了调查,研究了学生对《新课标》内容的掌握程度,得到了一些解决高等数学教材及教学应对实际情况与变化的对策。     

On problematic aspects in learning trigonometry

In this paper, research on some problematic aspects high school students have in learning trigonometry is presented. It is based on making sense of mathematics through perception, operation and reason in the case of trigonometry. We analyzed students' understanding of trigonometric concepts in the frame of triangle and circle trigonometry contexts, as well as the transition between these two contexts. In the conclusion, we present some new problematic aspects we noticed.

The research was carried out with two groups of high school students, one of them at the beginning of their trigonometry learning (17 years old) and the other at the end of their high school education (19 years old). The students were given a questionnaire similar to that of Chin and Tall, and we analyzed the students' response. In our research, we noticed that students have difficulties with properties of periodicity and the fact that trigonometric functions are not one-to-one. In addition, there is poor understanding of radian measure and a lack of its connection to the unit circle.