The purpose of this study is to a) explore connections among number sense, mental computation performance and the written computation performance of elementary preservice school teachers; and b) explore the correlation among mental computation skills, computation skills, effect issues and number sense. The sample was composed of students in six intact entry?level mathematics sections of a course populated by preservice elementary school teachers. One hundred fifty-five participants from these six classes completed data collection tasks during the Spring 2002 semester for the study. Regression analyses were used to investigate the correlation of written computation skills, mental computation skills, and affective domain with regard to number sense. Three of these subscales of Conference Learning Mathematics, Mathematics Anxiety, Effectance Motivation of Mathematics, Mental Computation Test score, and Written Computation Test score were found to positive significantly correlate with Number Sense Test score success at the a= 0.001 level. Overall, the six independent variables considered in this study accounted for 57.1% of the variation in Number Sense Test score, with Mental Computation Test, and Written Computation Test having the strongest effects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate what level of number sense was possessed by preservice elementary school teachers. The sample was composed of students in six intact entry?level mathematics sections of a course populated by preservice elementary school teachers. One hundred fifty-five participants from these six classes completed data collection tasks during the Spring 2002 semester for the study. These courses are all problem-solving-based. A problem-solving-based mathematics course was designed to utilize manipulatives, problem solving approaches, and the cooperative learning environment. Students actively participate in problem-solving mathematical exploration. Research designs using a control group could not be used for this study, as the problem?solving?based classroom is the required method by the institution to teaching this mathematics class. The six combined classes form “one-group” with pretest/posttest corresponding to the pre-post-surveys. T?tests were used to compare the paired changes in number sense across time.The participating elementary school preservice teachers’ number sense changed between the beginning and the completion of the undergraduate mathematics content course. This change was significant at a = 0.01 for issues.

In this study, the researcher examined the effect of a semester-long, constructivist-based learning approach method on student attitudes toward statistics in an introductory statistics course. The author investigated whether students who engaged in constructivist-based learning environment performed more positive attitudes toward statistics. Results showed that, the constructivist-based learning approach technique encouraged students to become more positive attitudes toward statistics with the course content through active–learning environment. Thus, these findings have important implications for course content and instructional delivery.

This study explores pre-service elementary school teachers' attitudes toward their learning of geometry. Fifty-six pre-service elementary school teachers who were enrolled in a mathematics content course for elementary and early childhood program completed the Utley Geometry Attitude Scales (UGAS) to measure attitudes of pre-service elementary teachers toward geometry. UGAS uses a Likert type scale where participants make subjects responds, on a scale of one to five, to their degree of agreement with a statement. A high score represents more indicative of an overall positive attitude towards geometry. The UGAS subscale data on the mean scores of the confidence of learning geometry scale, usefulness of studying geometry scale, and the enjoyment of studying geometry scale were 3.29, 3.65, and 2.83, respectively. The participants had a mean composite survey score of 3.25 on the 5-point Likert scale, with a score of one representing the most negative attitude, a score of three representing a neutral position, and a score of five representing the most positive attitude. Therefore, the mean composite score that reflected attitudes was just above the neutral position. The correlations among the three subscales were all statistically significant (p < 0.01). There appears to be a significant relationship between usefulness of studying geometry, enjoyment of learning geometry, and confidence of learning geometry in pre-service teachers. A significant relationship also appears to be (p < 0.01) between self-report grade and usefulness of studying geometry and confidence of learning geometry in pre-service teachers. Unfortunately, many pre-service elementary teachers in the study did not exhibit positive attitudes toward geometry learning. The lowest mean score for attitudes was the enjoyment of studying geometry scale in learning geometry at 2.83. The result also showed that the majority of the pre-service elementary teachers did not like solving geometrical problems. It also emerged that geometry was not a difficult topic and that, though most students did not like solving geometry, they considered geometry useful. The study revealed that the pre-service elementary teachers' attitudes toward the usefulness of geometry were moderately positive and that many of them believed that geometry was a valuable and necessary topic which could help them in their future careers and education. Recommendations for exposing pre-service teachers to positive attitudes about geometry are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to explore what mathematics perceptions are held by pre-service teachers. Sixty-eight pre-service elementary school teachers enrolled in a mathematics content course for elementary school teachers completed Mathematics Perceptions Survey (MPS) to measure their mathematics perceptions. All items were presented in the form of a 7-point rating scale. The questionnaire contained questions related to pre-service teachers' perceptions of what mathematics is and how to do well in it, what mathematics solutions should be, how mathematics problems can be solved, how mathematics should be taught, and how mathematics is learned, mathematics genius to do mathematics, the nature of school mathematics, and student motivation. Findings indicated that the beliefs pre-service elementary school teachers reflected in the instrument items were in line with the current reform movements in mathematics education. The pre-service elementary school teachers generally indicated positive beliefs to the questionnaire items about mathematics. For instance, they gave importance to appreciate developing different ways of solutions to the same problem, why a solution to a mathematics problem works, think in mathematics can be creative and discover things by themselves, and apply mathematics knowledge and skills to real life. However, the results revealed that the pre-service elementary school teachers held several moderate and negative beliefs. The data indicate that pre-service elementary school teachers' definition of mathematics reflects more of a subject that is all about symbols, numbers, equations, formulas, and procedures that are to be memorized. The results also indicated that pre-service elementary school teachers do not agree that the subject matter is interesting, and that learning the discipline will help them think clearly. Motivation is among the most powerful determinants of students' success or failure in school. These results suggest that mathematics educators need to develop pre-service teachers' motivation towards mathematics; help pre-service teachers understand and value the need for perseverance in solving mathematics problems; and help students realize the connections between the mathematics they learn in school and the mathematics-related fields that might interest them.