Justin K. Dimmel, Patricio G. Herbst
Geometry diagrams use the visual features of specific drawn objects to convey meaning about generic mathematical entities. We examine the semiotic structure of these visual features in two parts. One, we conduct a semiotic inquiry to conceptualize geometry diagrams as mathematical texts that comprise choices from different semiotic systems. Two, we use the semiotic catalog that results from this inquiry to analyze 2,300 diagrams from 22 high school geometry textbooks in which the dates of publication span the 20th century. In the first part of the article, we identify axes along which the features of geometry diagrams can vary, and in the second part of the article, we show the viability of using the semiotic framework to conduct empirical studies of diagrams in geometry textbooks.
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Vital Directions for Mathematics Education Research. Keith Leatham (Ed.) (2013). New York, NY: Springer, ix + 207 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4614-6976-6 (hb) $129.00, ISBN: 978-1-4614-6977-3 (e-book) $99.00.
Reviewed by Amanda Jansen and Alison S. Marzocchi, University of Delaware
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Amy J. Hackenberg, Mi Yeon Lee
To understand relationships between students’ fractional knowledge and algebraic reasoning in the domain of equation writing, an interview study was conducted with 12 secondary school students, 6 students operating with each of 2 different multiplicative concepts. These concepts are based on how students coordinate composite units. Students participated in two 45-minute interviews and completed a written fractions assessment. Students operating with the second multiplicative concept had not constructed fractional numbers, but students operating with the third multiplicative concept had; students operating with the second multiplicative concept represented multiplicatively related unknowns in qualitatively different ways than students operating with the third multiplicative concept. A facilitative link is proposed between the construction of fractional numbers and how students represent multiplicatively related unknowns.
Michelle L. Stephan, Kathryn B. Chval, Jeffrey J. Wanko, Marta Civil, Michael C. Fish, Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Clifford Konold, Trena L. Wilkerson
100767
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Mathematics education researchers seek answers to important questions that will ultimately result in the enhancement of mathematics teaching, learning, curriculum, and assessment, working toward “ensuring that all students attain mathematics proficiency and increasing the nu