Research On and Activities For Mathematically Gifted Students

This Topical Survey offers a brief overview of the current state of research on and activities for mathematically gifted students around the world. This is of interest to a broad readership, including educational researchers, research mathematicians, mathematics teachers, teacher educators, curriculum designers, doctoral students, and other stakeholders. It first discusses research concerning the nature of mathematical giftedness, including theoretical frameworks and methodologies that are helpful in identifying and/or creating mathematically gifted students, which is described in this section. It also focuses on research on and the development of mathematical talent and innovation in students, including connections between cognitive, social and affective aspects of mathematically gifted students. Exemplary teaching and learning practices, curricula and a variety of programs that contribute to the development of mathematical talent, gifts, and passion are described as well as the pedagogy and mathematics content suitable for educating pre-service and in-service teachers of mathematically gifted students. The final section provides a brief summary of the paper along with suggestions for the research, activities, and resources that should be available to support mathematically gifted students and their teachers, parents, and other stakeholders

Mathematical creativity: A combination of domain-general creative and domain-specific mathematical skills

Contains fulltext : 219516.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Creativity is an understudied topic in elementary school mathematics research. Nevertheless, we argue that creativity plays an important role in mathematics, but that more research is needed to understand this relation. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate this relation, specifically between domain-general creativity, domain-specific mathematical creativity, and mathematical ability. Measures for these constructs were administered to 342 Dutch fourth graders. In order to examine the nature of the relation between creativity and mathematics, two competing models were tested, using Structural Equation Modeling. The results indicated that models in which general creativity and mathematical ability both predict mathematical creativity fitted the data better than models in which mathematical and general creativity predict mathematical ability. This study showed that both general creativity and mathematical ability are important to think creatively in mathematics.11 p

Incidence and Risk Factors for Severity of Postoperative Ileus After Colorectal Surgery: A Prospective Registry Data Analysis

International audienceBackground Defining severe postoperative ileus in terms of consequences could help physicians standardize the management of this condition. The recently described classification based on consequences requires further investigation. The aim of this study was to obtain a snapshot of postoperative ileus in patients undergoing colorectal surgery within enhanced recovery programs and to identify factors associated with non-severe and severe postoperative ileus. Methods This prospective registry data analysis was conducted in 40 centers in five different countries. A total of 786 patients scheduled for colorectal surgery within enhanced recovery programs were included. The primary endpoint was the incidence rate of postoperative ileus as defined by Vather et al. Results A total of 121 patients experienced postoperative ileus (15.4%). Non-severe POI occurred in 48 patients (6.1%), and severe postoperative ileus occurred in 73 patients (9.3%). In multivariate analysis, the male gender and intra-abdominal complications were associated with severe postoperative ileus: odd ratio (OR) = 2.03 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.14-3.59], p = 0.01 and OR = 3.60 [95% CI 1.75-7.40], p < 0.0001, respectively. Conversely, open laparotomy and urinary retention were associated with non-severe POI: OR = 3.03 [95% CI 1.37-6.72], p = 0.006 and OR = 2.70 [95% CI 0.89-8.23], p = 0.08, respectively. Conclusions Postoperative ileus occurred in 15% of patients after colorectal surgery within enhanced recovery programs. For 60% of patients, this was considered severe. The physiopathology of these two entities could be different, severe POI being linked to intraabdominal complication, while non-severe POI being linked with risk factors for ``primary'' POI. The physician should pay attention to male patients having POI after colorectal surgery and look for features evocating intraabdominal complications