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Recent reform movements have emphasized students making meaning of algebraic relationships; however, research on student thinking and learning often remains disconnected from the design of widely used curricular materials. Although a previous examination of algebra textbooks (Nathan, Long, & Alibali, 2002) demonstrated a preference for a symbols-first approach, research has demonstrated that Algebra I students' performance on verbally presented problems is better than on symbolic equations, consistent with cognitive theories suggesting the value of concreteness fading. The present study investigates whether current textbooks used in Algebra I courses demonstrate a formalisms-first approach using five different analyses. Results show that despite nearly 2 decades of research on student learning, the conventional textbooks used in most classrooms have been resistant to change and emphasize manipulation with symbols prior to making sense of verbal scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article shows the theoretical elements related with the conception of the curricular strategies and its instrumentation in the process of the student's of the Mathematical career formation - Physics. Examples are presented that demonstrate how to deal with the computer science's curricular strategy from the teaching process - learning of the subject Algebra I in the third year of the career. They give the possibility that the formation process be more effective, they facilitate the systematizing knowledge and abilities as well as the development of the integral general culture in the future professors of Mathematics - Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving arithmetic and algebraic word problems is a key component of the Singapore elementary mathematics curriculum. One heuristic taught, the model method, involves drawing a diagram to represent key information in the problem. We describe the model method and a three-phase theoretical framework supporting its use. We conducted 2 studies to examine teachers' perceptions and children's application of the model method. The subjects were 14 primary teachers from 4 schools and 151 Primary 5 children. The model method affords higher ability children without access to letter- symbolic algebra a means to represent and solve algebraic word problems. Partly correct solutions suggest that representation is not an all-or-nothing process in which model drawing is either completely correct or completely incorrect. Instead, an incorrect solution could be the consequence of misrepresentation of a single piece of information. Our findings offer avenues of support in word problem solving to children of average ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines findings on student perceptions of individual interventions based on the principles of universal design for learning (UDL). The examination includes a comparison of the reported perceptions of mainstreamed students with high incidence disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, or other health impairments under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) to that of their general education peers. Findings showed that relative to their other academic classes, both groups of students had high levels of satisfaction and expressed similar themes as to what they perceived to be the best and worst parts of the interventions and ideas for improvement. Both groups also reported near unanimous agreement as to wanting their teachers to use more UDL interventions. The reported perceptions and subsequent comparison forms the basis for discussing the implications of UDL in high school settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]