Middle school students' understanding of core algebraic concepts: Equivalence & Variable1 Export

@article{citeulike:3099690, abstract = {Abstract\ \ Algebra is a focal point of reform efforts in mathematics education, with many mathematics educators advocating that algebriac reasoning should be integrated at all grade levels K-12. Recent research has begun to investigate algebra reform in the context of elementary school (grades K-5) mathematics, focusing in particular on the development of algebraic reasoning. Yet, to date, little research has focused on the development of algebraic reasoning in middle school (grades 6–8). This article focuses on moiddle school students' understanding of two core algebraic ideas—equivalence and variable—and the relationship of their understanding to performance on problems that require use of these two ideas. The data suggest that students' understanding of these core ideas influences their success in solving problems, the strategies they use in their solution processes, and the justifications they provide for their solutions. Implications for instruction and curricular design are discussed.}, author = {Knuth, Eric and Alibali, Martha and Mcneil, Nicole and Weinberg, Aaron and Stephens, Ana}, citeulike-article-id = {3099690}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02655899}, day = {13}, doi = {10.1007/BF02655899}, journal = {ZDM}, keywords = {algebra, assessment, mathematics}, month = {February}, number = {1}, pages = {68--76}, posted-at = {2008-08-08 10:46:55}, priority = {2}, title = {Middle school students' understanding of core algebraic concepts: Equivalence \& Variable1}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02655899}, volume = {37}, year = {2005} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3099690 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3099690 N2 - Abstract  Algebra is a focal point of reform efforts in mathematics education, with many mathematics educators advocating that algebriac reasoning should be integrated at all grade levels K-12. Recent research has begun to investigate algebra reform in the context of elementary school (grades K-5) mathematics, focusing in particular on the development of algebraic reasoning. Yet, to date, little research has focused on the development of algebraic reasoning in middle school (grades 6–8). This article focuses on moiddle school students' understanding of two core algebraic ideas—equivalence and variable—and the relationship of their understanding to performance on problems that require use of these two ideas. The data suggest that students' understanding of these core ideas influences their success in solving problems, the strategies they use in their solution processes, and the justifications they provide for their solutions. Implications for instruction and curricular design are discussed. IS - 1 JF - ZDM EP - 76 TI - Middle school students' understanding of core algebraic concepts: Equivalence & Variable1 VL - 37 SP - 68 KW - algebra KW - assessment KW - mathematics AU - Knuth, Eric AU - Alibali, Martha AU - Mcneil, Nicole AU - Weinberg, Aaron AU - Stephens, Ana PY - 2005/02/13/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02655899 ER -