Empirical research shows that a possible reason why Swedish students mathematical knowledge deteriorates can be a too big focus on imitative reasoning, i.e. recalling solutions or follow algorithms, and a lack of creative mathematical reasoning, i.e. when a student construct his/her own solution and motivates its plausibility with mathematically well-founded arguments. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine if, and in what way, lecturers can provide students an opportunity to learn creative reasoning by simulating creativity in their presentations of examples. Six lectures were observed and 22 task situations were analyzed with respect to three aspects; reflection, plausibility and mathematical foundation, which are to be present in the situation if the reasoning will be seen as simulated creative.

Undersökningen beskriver den matematiska kommunikationen mellan speciallärare och matematiksvaga elever. Den empiriska datan består av två matematiklektioner från år 9 i grundskolan. Datan analyserades för att finna olika typer av kommunikation.Lärarna var i många delar medvetna i sitt sätt att kommunicera med eleverna och undervisningsmiljön kändes trygg. Under lektionerna observerades två parallella språk, ett vardagsanknutet och ett matematiskt språk. Det framkom att ett tydligt förhållningssätt beträffande matematiskt språk kan underlätta för elevens inlärning samt medvetandegöra läraren om den kommunikativa betydelsen i undervisningen med styrdokumentens mål i fokus. .

The objective of this study was to bring further knowledge to the subject as to what influences students motivation and self-esteem. The study had focus on role that the teachers play in these aspects. The study was done by using both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative method was interviews based on six interviews with two teachers and four students from two different classes. The quantitative method was a questionnaire study that was done in both classes.

 Title:              Not just words, classroom communication about subtraction in year 2Language:      Swedish with summary in English.Keywords:     Communication, mathematics, subtraction, teaching The purpose of this study is to analyze the mathematical communication in a classroom during a lesson in the field subtraction, and to find out how students describe their perception of mathematics that is communicated in the classroom.The study consists of the observations through the videotaping of two lessons in primary school grades 2 and student and teacher interviews related to these lecture occasions.Research indicates that Swedish pupils' mathematical skill continuously deteriorates in a national and international perspective, and that student experiences of mathematics in general are negative. The literature emphasizes the importance of communicating mathematics in various forms to deepen and develop understanding of concepts and mathematical operations. Communication must be generated between teachers and students but also between student and student to have a beneficial impact for the student.Our result demonstrate the different types of communication in the classroom but that communication does not always have a clear mathematical content in spite of teachers' mathematical intentions with teaching. The result also indicates that the mathematical communication that takes place, in essence, is a one-way communication where the teacher has a great opportunity to speak. The teachers perceived as oblivious to their own ways of communicating, but stressed in the interviews with an understanding of the importance of communication learning.

For many years, I have tried to understand why students end up in difficulties in mathematics. As a future teacher, it is extremely important to have knowledge of the various factors that leads to difficulties in mathematics. As a teacher it is obvious to meet the students who find mathematics a difficult subject, and, therefore it is necessary to have a broader knowledge of how to respond and support these students. According to Ahlberg, number of students with mathematics difficulties is increasing every year, therefore, it is important to help students and organize a supporting school environment that promotes and encourages learning (Ahlberg 2001, p. 104-105).

Concrete is a very common construction material. It´s characteristics are strength, durability and formablility. Superplasticizer is a common admixture, which changes the properties of concrete. Today (spring 2007) there are no certian mathematical methods to calculate the required percentage of this admixture needed to give the necessary set slump flow in the overall concrete recipe. Concrete batching companies must therefor experiment with different amount of superplasticizer in order to meet the specified slump and strength. The purpose og this report is to investigate if any mathematical relation can be established between the amount of superplasticizer used and the slump flow achieved. After carrying out some practical experiments using four different superplasticizers a direct relationship can be establish between the percentage of admixture used and the slump/flowability achieved. Unfortunatly at present due to the numerous variables, the calculation of mathematical formula can not be achieved..

The purpose of my study is to examine how four preschool teachers go about using the term play in children's early mathematical development. In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, I have the following questions:How the preschool teachers visualize mathematics in children?s play?What reflections have the preschool teachers about the importance of play for children's mathematical learning in preschool?How do the preschool teachers see on their own role in the children's play?In this study, I have conducted a semi-structured qualitative interviews based on the interviews with four preschool teachers from various departments in a preschool. I have also conducted some observations to complete my study. Whereas in my analysis of the researched material, I have used Vygotsky's theory.The survey shows that the preschool teachers are aware of the use of mathematical language and concepts in children?s different activities which were conducted daily in the preschool.

This work concerns children with reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia. My purpose is to investigate the practical experience of teachers as well as their everyday work with these children.My questions are:How do teachers work with children aged 4-9 who have reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?Which various teaching aids exist for children who have reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?Which subjects are affected by reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?To answer the above questions I have used the qualitative method. I have performed interviews and observations. Previous research has shown that reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia is one of our most common disabilities.

The purpose of my study is to investigate teachers? opinions about learning difficulties in mathematics.I have read relevant literature on this subject. I have conducted interviews with seven class teachers, one special-needs teacher, a psychologist and one special-needs teachers who specifically worked with investigations concerning pupils with difficulties in mathematics.The result of my study shows that learning difficulties in mathematics can/might be prevented if children in pre-school are introduced to mathematics as early as possible. This should be done in a delightful way in their daily activities and while there are playing. I didn?t find any complete method to help children with mathematics difficulties in compulsory school.

The starting point of this work has been to get knowledge about teachers working in a mathematical workshop with the students. I also wanted to investigate what students think about math, both within the workshop and in traditional teaching.To achieve this I chose to interview a teacher in charge within the framework of a mathematical workshop, and six students in the 5th grade. I also did a lesson observation with the purpose to see how well the teacher?s tutoring agrees with the results of the interview.In this study I have discovered that the lessons in the mathematical workshop are planned after what the students are working with in the textbook. The teacher opens the lessons with the whole class and then splits it up in groups.

For many years, I have tried to understand why students end up in difficulties in mathematics. As a future teacher, it is extremely important to have knowledge of the various factors that leads to difficulties in mathematics. As a teacher it is obvious to meet the students who find mathematics a difficult subject, and, therefore it is necessary to have a broader knowledge of how to respond and support these students. According to Ahlberg, number of students with mathematics difficulties is increasing every year, therefore, it is important to help students and organize a supporting school environment that promotes and encourages learning (Ahlberg 2001, p. 104-105).

The purpose of this study is to analyze the handling of difficulties encountered by Swedish managers in Swedish subsidiaries in South Korea. By identifying the most common and possibly most manageable difficulties specific to the market we categorized them into three different groups; external difficulties, internal difficulties and difficulties related to the leadership. Depending on where in the environment and in relation to which stakeholder the difficulties originate the managing process comes to be supported through sometimes contradictory theories. Our study implies that the proper handling is crucial to satisfy local expectations which are critical for survival of Swedish companies. It also implies that the leadership skills acquired by the Swedish managers combined with the level of acceptance for foreign managers among the Korean coworkers affect how influential the manager?s ambitions are.

This essay deals with the subject of communication through Facebook. In this survey we studied 100 youths from Karlstad and their communication habits and behavior patterns on Facebook. The social network site Facebook has since its start in 2004 made a mark in modern communication. Today in 2010 the site has more than 500 million users. This paper wants to study what happens to other types of communication.

The purpose of this study is to see how some teachers in primary school creates and adapts their mathematics teaching for students with special mathematical abilities. It also aims to identify opportunities and challenges that teachers see in creating a teaching adapted to these students.In this study, qualitative interviews has been done to collect data. The interviews were conducted with five teachers who all are active in the primary school.The study results show that there is great variation in how the interviewed teachers create their mathematics teaching for students with special mathematical abilities. The use of mathematics book proved to be significant for how this adaptation took place. The result also shows that the teachers? explanations for the choice of the adaptations that they make in teaching vary.

I denna studie undersöks vilka uppfattningar SUM-elever, elever med särskilda utbildningsbehov i matematik, har av matematikundervisning när de i klassrummet får specialpedagogiskt stöd i ämnet och hur de känner sig när de följer med specialläraren ut från klassrummet. Det övergripande syftet med studien är att belysa inkludering och exkludering ur ett elevperspektiv. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och har genomförts i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta SUM-elever från åk 4 och 5. Till grund för analysen används Asp-Onsjös (2006) tre olika aspekter på inkludering; rumslig, social och didaktisk. Resultatet visar att den inkludering som eleverna anser vara viktigast när de lär sig matematik är den didaktiska inkluderingen, inte den rumsliga eller sociala. Alla elever i studien kände sig socialt inkluderade och vad gäller den rumsliga inkluderingen spelade den inte någon större roll för dessa SUM-elever.