AbstractThe purpose of this study has been to find out what attitude fifth graders have towards mathematics. This is done to get a better understanding of student?s feelings regarding about mathematics and what it is that makes mathematics fun or boring. My questions have been: What do the students think is fun, boring and difficult about mathematics? How do students think that a good mathematics teacher should be? Do the students see a difference in the mathematics teaching in easy compulsory school years?To find answers to my questions I have looked into prior research on students attitudes towards mathematics.

AbstractThe purpose of this investigation was to understand how teachers/pedagogues nowadays work with mathematics in school. In what way can they pin point the difficulties a pupil with another language might have with mathematics.I started the process of this investigation by reading litterature on the subject. Then I did interviews with several teachers and pedagogues teaching in different schools with children at different ages.The results found in my investegation pointed to a lack of practical work with mathematics especially in classroom and revealed from the teachers a strong desire to work with mathematics in different ways.?Talking maths? with pupils in class will help them understand the subject better. Several teachers are of the opinion that the pupils will reach the goals in school with this method.The teachers are also aware of the importance of having practical mathematics.

This study examines how formal mathematics can be taught in the Swedish secondary school with its new curriculum for mathematics. The study examines what a teaching material in formal mathematics corresponding to the initial content of the course Mathematics 1c could look like, and whether formal mathematics can be taught to high school students.The survey was conducted with second year students from the science programme. The majority of these students studied the course Mathematics D. The students described themselves as not being motivated towards mathematics.The results show that the content of the curriculum can be presented with formal mathematics. This both in terms of requirements for content and students being able to comprehend this content.

AbstractThe purpose of my study is to compare Sten Rydhs wiew of learning disabilities in mathematics and his education with current literature and research. I want to explore whether the education of ?Mattesmedjan?*, influenced by the Suzuki method, can be the solution for the students with maths problems. ?Mattesmedjan? is a privately-owned school of maths.

This exam essay will look at dyslexia, dyscalculia and the connections that may exist between these two phenomena. My purpose, from the beginning, was to investigate if there might be any connections between dyslexia and dyscalculia, or if the consequences that appear as a result of dyslexia, might lead to problems and difficulties in mathematics.   I found it very hard to find literature that deal with dyscalculia, both as a subject of its own and together with dyslexia. Therefore, I was more or less forced to focus on difficulties in mathematics as a result from dyslexia.   From what I have found, dyslexia and dyscalculia cannot be connected, at least not without more research on the subject. Two consequences; an impaired short-term memory and also an impaired spatial ability are both common, both for persons with dyslexia and for persons with dyscalculia. Other than these, there are no connections, apart from the difficulties in mathematics that are directly, or indirectly, caused by dyslexia..

Enterprise learning is a pedagogic concept that implies that the students, in correlation with development of theoretical, subject specific knowledge, also develops enterprise competences that will be useful in their everyday life and on the labour market. Enterprise learning has grown over the last ten years, as well in school practicing as within research. In the Mathematics subject, a strong educational tradition has delayed the introduction of enterprise learning. At the examined school, enterprise mathematics has been introduced during the spring term of 2010. This examination focuses on which of the enterprise competences that are developed and how they are developed.

During my practice as a teacher trainee at an upper secondary school it became clear to me that many pupils had difficulties with mathematics. I was surprised to find that many pupils seemed to get stuck on the level of attainment for the senior level of the nine-year compulsory school. As I have not studied anything about difficulties in Mathematics during my training to become a qualified teacher, I would like to get to know more about this.After studying research done on this subject I made the following approach to the problem:? What fields regarding Mathematics do the pupils themselves find most difficult?? What factors have been contributory causes to these problems?? What are the factors that have helped pupils with difficulties in Mathematics to reach the goals for the syllabuses in Mathematics?The answers to my questionnaire and interviews resulted in the following conclusions:? Pupils find theory of equation and conversion of units as most difficult at senior level of the nine-year compulsory school.? Teaching should be done in special instruction groups to give the pupil the opportunity to develop his/her skills on an individual level.? Pupils find it hard to deal with all moments in Mathematics during the time given for each course.? The pace for teaching Mathematics is too high according to the pupils.? Pupils wish for instructions on a lower level.? There is often a lack of contact between teacher and pupil.? The teacher should use more time to help the pupil receive good self-confidence and increase the motivation for instructions in Mathematics..

Research indicates that a more hands-on education in mathematics could improve how students relate to mathematics. Laboratory mathematics is a way of making mathematics more concrete.  How is the purpose of laboratory mathematics perceived? This thesis has its focus on the pupils? perceptions of the purpose of laboratory mathematics, but the intention of the teacher involved is also investigated. The main research questions asked were:What is the teacher's definition of laboratory mathematics?Which is the teacher's purpose in using laboratory education?How do the students perceive the purpose of the laboratory teaching of mathematics?To answer the questions, I conducted a series of qualitative interviews.

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).

AimThe main aim of this study was to find out how teachers reflect on their work with developing pupils? interest towards mathematics in grade nine. As a teacher in mathematics, it is important to be aware of different views on interest towards mathematics and how it is possible to work in that direction. Since developing interest towards mathematics is written the in syllabus as criteria for teaching mathematics in grade nine, it is important to know and take an active role in finding ways to approach the issue.Main issues? How do teachers in grade nine reflect over their work with development of interest towards mathematics?? How are teachers? Beliefs Systems reflected in their work with interest?MethodThe main focus of this study was teachers? perspective on their own work on developing interest towards mathematics.

Based on earlier experiences of mathematics and mathematical learning, both as a student and as a teacher, I became more and more interested in how well the publicly accepted opinions about mathematics as an uninteresting, difficult and ?geeky? subject corresponded to reality. What do Swedish pupils really think about mathematics and is it possible to identify any differences in their attitudes based on the pupils? age?From this point of view the following questions were formulated:·What are pupils? attitudes towards mathematics in grades 3, 6 and 9 and how do they conceive their learning conditions?·Is it possible to detect any differences in the attitudes and preferences depending on the pupils? age?The result of this study compares well with previous studies done in this and overlapping fields and indicates that:·Younger pupils tend to have a better liking of mathematics but with increasing age that interest fades out.·Most pupils, without regard to age, consider mathematics to be one of the most important subjects, despite the fact that many pupils also find mathematics difficult and boring.·For pupils of all ages, the teacher is the most important factor in the learning process. Older students have more specific demands on the teacher for knowledge and pedagogical skills.·A high noise level, talking and disturbances in the classroom are the most bothering elements when it comes to learning mathematics.

This study aims to highlight and analyze eight secondary teachers' views and thoughts on mathematics. Hopefully this study will provide a deeper understanding of how teachers think and reason about their subject and how this affects their teaching. The study was conducted using a qualitative interview method, based on interviews with eight middle school teachers who teach in school mathematics for grades 6 - 9. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed and analyzed. After the interview analysis one can conclude that the teachers? thoughts concern three main themes: the importance of mathematics, children?s lack of basic knowledge and the teachers? lack of time.In discussion and analysis the teachers conceptions of the own subject is being analyzed, and that is the foundation of this study.

Algebra in school, - a study on students` algebraic knowledge of the field equations in ninth grade.International (TIMSS) and national mathematics studies detects that Swedish pupils math skills is deteriorating in comparison to other countries. Therefore has the subject of mathematics become one of the school subjects which are becoming increasingly in focus. The government has made a big effort, Matematiklyftet, in mathematics in primary education, 650 million has been invested and the Agency has been tasked to train all current mathematics teachers through peer collegial learning. This effort is the most pervasive in modern times in Sweden.The aim of this study is that we as prospective mathematics teachers want to find our approach to surveys results. By using the Governments? diagnoses, Diamant, student group interviews, teacher interviews and theories in mathematics education, we want to make students' algebraic knowledge of the field equations visible.

This study examines how formal mathematics can be taught in the Swedishsecondary school with its new curriculum for mathematics. The study examineswhat a teaching material in formal mathematics corresponding to the initialcontent of the course Mathematics 1c could look like, and whether formalmathematics can be taught to high school students.The survey was conducted with second year students from the science programme.The majority of these students studied the course Mathematics D.The students described themselves as not being motivated towards mathematics.The results show that the content of the curriculum can be presented withformal mathematics. This both in terms of requirements for content and studentsbeing able to comprehend this content. The curriculum also requires thatthis type of mathematics is introduced in the course Mathematics 1c.The results also show that students are open towards and want more formalmathematics in their ordinary education. They initially felt it was strangebecause they had never encountered this type of mathematics before, but somestudents found the formal mathematics to be easier than the mathematicsordinarily presented in class.The study finds no reason to postpone the meeting with the formal mathematicsto university level.

The purpose of this study is to provide a description of how mathematics teachers in grades 3 choose to work with mathematics and how it affects of student performance in national tests. The categories I will use are outdoor education, textbooks, learning materials and problem solving. Laboratory materials can be everyday materials and educational materials in which pupils have an abstract understanding of the subject. This survey was conducted through interviews and observations. The survey was also conducted in relation to student performance in national math tests.