Alan H. (EDT) Schoenfeld

This fourth volume of "Research in Collegiate Mathematics Education" ("RCME IV") reflects the themes of student learning and calculus. Included are overviews of calculus reform in France and in the U. S. and large-scale and small-scale longitudinal comparisons of students enrolled in first-year reform courses and in traditional courses. The work continues with detailed studies relating students' understanding of calculus and associated topics. Direct focus is then placed on instruction and student comprehension of courses other than calculus, namely abstract algebra and number theory. The volume concludes with a study of a concept that overlaps the areas of focus, quantifiers. The book clearly reflects the trend towards a growing community of researchers who systematically gather and distill data regarding collegiate mathematics' teaching and learning.

"Volume III of Research in Collegiate Mathematics Education" (RCME) presents state-of-the-art research on understanding, teaching, and learning mathematics at the post-secondary level. This volume contains information on methodology and research concentrating on these areas of student learning: Problem solving - included here are three different articles analyzing aspects of Schoenfeld's undergraduate problem-solving instruction. The articles provide new detail and insight on a well-known and widely discussed course taught by Schoenfeld for many years. Understanding concepts - these articles feature a variety of methods used to examine students' understanding of the concept of a function and selected concepts from calculus. The conclusions presented offer unique and interesting perspectives on how students learn concepts. Understanding proofs - this section provides insight from a distinctly psychological framework. Researchers examine how existing practices can foster certain weaknesses. They offer ways to recognize and interpret students' proof behaviors and suggest alternative practices and curricula to build more powerful schemes. The section concludes with a focused look at using diagrams in the course of proving a statement.