Two articles has recently been published online in International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. Here are the titles and abstracts:

• Lene Møller Madsen and Carl Winsløw have written an article called “RELATIONS BETWEEN TEACHING AND RESEARCH IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND MATHEMATICS AT RESEARCH-INTENSIVE UNIVERSITIES“. Abstract: We examine the relationship between research and teaching practices as they are enacted by university professors in a research-intensive university. First we propose a theoretical model for the study of this relationship based on Chevallard’s anthropological theory. This model is used to design and analyze an interview study with physical geographers and mathematicians at the University of Copenhagen. We found significant differences in how the respondents from the two disciplines assessed the relationship between research and teaching. Above all, while geography research practices are often and smoothly integrated into geography teaching even at the undergraduate level, teaching in mathematics may at best be ‘similar’ to mathematical research practice, at least at the undergraduate level. Finally, we discuss the educational implications of these findings.
• Muammer Çalik, Alipaşa Ayas and Richard K. Coll wrote an article called “INVESTIGATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ANALOGY ACTIVITY IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL CHANGE FOR SOLUTION CHEMISTRY CONCEPTS“. Abstract: This paper reports on an investigation on the use of an analogy activity and seeks to provide evidence of whether the activity enables students to change alternative conceptions towards views more in accord with scientific views for aspects of solution chemistry. We were also interested in how robust any change was and whether these changes in conceptual thinking became embedded in the students’ long-term memory. The study has its theoretical basis in an interpretive paradigm, and used multiple methods to probe the issues in depth. Data collection consisted of two concept test items, one-on-one interviews, and student self-assessment. The sample consisted of 44 Grade 9 students selected from two intact classes (22 each), from Trabzon, Turkey. The interviews were conducted with six students selected because of evidence as to their significant conceptual change in solution chemistry. The research findings revealed statistically significant differences in pre-test and post-test scores, and pre-test and delayed post-test scores (p<0.05), but no differences between post-test and delayed test scores (p>0.05). This suggests that the analogy activity is helpful in enhancing students’ conceptual understanding of solution chemistry, and that these changes may be stored in the students’ long-term memory.

Christine Knipping wrote an article that was recently published online in ZDM. The article is entitled: A method for revealing structures of argumentations in classroom proving processes. Here is the abstract:

Constantine Skordoulis et al. have written an article called “The system of coordinates as an obstacle in understanding the concept of dimension“. This article has recently been published online in International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. Here is the abstract of the article:

The concept of dimension, one of the most fundamental ideas in mathematics, is firmly rooted in the basis of the school geometry in such a way that mathematics teachers rarely feel the need to mention anything about it. However, the concept of dimension is far from being fully understood by students, even at the college level. In this paper, we examine whether the Cartesian x-y plane is responsible for student difficulty in estimating the value of the dimension of an object, or is it only students misconceptions about dimension that lead them to a false estimation of the value of the dimension of various objects. A second question discussed in this paper examines whether the system of coordinates acts as an epistemological obstacle or whether it has only a didactical character.

International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology (IJMEST) has published several new articles online. Unfortunately, I have been to busy to cover them all, but you can take a look here!

Teaching Mathematics and its Applications has published a new issue (the June issue of 2008), and you can view these articles and abstracts by following this link.