Algebraic Reasoning: Developmental, Cognitive and Disciplinary Foundations for Instruction

On September 14, 2005, the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings joined the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Institute of Education Sciences, and the National Science Foundation in convening panels of experts to shed some light on the learning of algebra. The co-sponsors thought it would be timely to organize a conference focused on the developmental, cognitive, and disciplinary (i.e., mathematical) foundations for instruction.

Conference Resources:

• Summary Report (pdf)
• Conference Bios (pdf)
• Understanding of Symbols at the Transition from Arithmetic to Algebra: The Equal Sign and Letters as Variables (pdf)
  Powerpoint Presentation by Martha Alibali, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• The Potential of Geometric Sequences to Foster Young Students’ Ability to Generalize in Mathematics: A Report from Second and Fourth Grade Research Classrooms in Diverse Urban Settings (pdf)
  Powerpoint Presentation by Joan Moss, University of Toronto
• What Makes Algebra Hard for Learners? (pdf)
  Powerpoint Presentation by Dr. Kenneth Koedinger, Carnegie Mellon University
• Algebraic Reasoning (pdf)
  Powerpoint Presentation by Dr. David C. Geary , University of Missouri at Columbia
• Analysis of NAEP Items Classified Under the Algebra and Functions Content Strand
  Presentation by Dr. Hyman Bass, University of Michigan
  • Powerpoint Presentation (pdf)
  • Review of the 4th and 8th Grade Algebra and Functions Items on NAEP (pdf)
  • APPENDIX A: Features of NAEP Algebra Items (pdf)
  • APPENDIX B: Annotated NAEP Tables (pdf)
• NAEP Algebra Doesn’t Measure Up (pdf)
  Powerpoint Presentation by Dr. James Milgram, Stanford Univeristy
• Comments on NAEP Algebra Problems (pdf)
  Presentation by Dr. Roger Howe, Yale University