Volume 99 (2), February 1999

Table of Contents

Abstracts

Table of Contents

Abstracts

 
Assessing Number Sense of Students in Australia, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States
Robert Reys and Barbara Reys, University of Missouri
Alistair McIntosh, Edith Cowan University
Göran Emanuelsson and Bengt Johansson, Gothenborg University
Der Ching Yang, St. Johnís & St. Maryís Institute of Technology


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        This paper reports selected findings from a study of number sense proficiency of students aged 8 to 14 years in Australia, Sweden, United States, and Taiwan. It comments on the meaning and importance of number sense, the development of the assessment instruments, and student responses to the items. Some implications for classrooms of the findings are then discussed.

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Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Teaching:  Differences Between Preservice and In-service Teachers
Arta Damnjanovic, Miami University


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        This paper describes differences between preservice and in-service middle school science teachers in their attitudes toward the learning and teaching of science through inquiry. Seventy-three preservice and 90 in-service teachers were surveyed. Separate factor analyses indicated that different factor structures were generated by preservice and in-service teachers. In the preservice group, the factors included Nature of Science, Image of Scientists, and Characteristics of Science Teachers. Factors from in-service teachersí responses, on the other hand, included Contemporary View of Science Teaching, Image of Scientists, and Traditional View of Science and Science Teaching. Results of the t-tests indicated that preservice and in-service teachers differed in their responses to 6 (out of 25) items. The pattern of those differences is best described as differences in teacher views about contemporary science and science teaching. In-service teachers held more positive views regarding the process of inquiry and inquiry teaching than did preservice teachers.

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Exploring Fractal Geometry With Children
Nancy Nesbitt Vacc, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro


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        The intent of this article is to heighten elementary school teachersí, teacher educatorsí, and teacher-education researchersí awareness of possible applications of fractal geometry with children and, subsequently, to initiate a discussion about the appropriateness of including this new mathematics in the elementary curriculum. Activities for exploring childrenís thinking and understanding relative to (a) describing, identifying, and measuring fractal patterns and (b) the attribute of self-similarity in some fractal sets are presented, as are recommendations for future research.

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Using Performance Assessment to Engage Preservice Teachers in Mathematical Discourse
Denisse R. Thompson, University of South Florida


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        This article describes one mathematics educatorís inclusion of an oral performance assessment into mathematics methods courses for preservice teachers at both the elementary and middle school levels. The nature of the assessment is described, issues related to implementation are discussed, and reflections about the assessment from the instructor and the students are shared.

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