The use of the Web in K–12 education has increased substantially in recent years. The Web, however, does not support the learning processes of students as a matter of course. In this review, the authors analyze what research says about the demands that the use of the Web as an information resource in education makes on the support and supervision of students’ learning processes. They discuss empirical research focusing on the limitations of the actual search strategies of children, as well as theoretical literature that analyzes specific characteristics of the Web and their implications for the organization of education. The authors conclude that students need support in searching on the Web as well as in developing “information literacy.” Future research should focus on how the use of the Web in education can contribute to the development of deep and meaningful knowledge.

The main ideas in the work of Hans Freudenthal (1905± 1990), the Dutch mathematician and mathematics educator, related to curriculum theory and didactics are described. Freudenthal' s educational credo,`mathematics as a human activity' , is explored. From this pedagogical point of departure, Freudenthal' s criticism of educational research and educational theories is sketched and¯eshed out. Freudenthal' s approaches to mathematics education, developmental research and curriculum development can be seen as alternatives to the mainstream`Anglo-Saxon' approaches to curriculum theory.During his professional life, Hans Freudenthal' s views contradicted almost every contemporary approach to educational`reform' : the`new' mathematics, operationalized objectives, rigid forms of assessment, standardized quantitative empirical research, a strict division of labour between curriculum research and development, or between development and implementation. Looking back from the present, it is of great interest to see how his ideas, which may at the time have seemed to embody recalcitrance for its own sake, have now become widely accepted. It would, of course, be farfetched to suggest that this correlation implies a causal relationship, but it does indicate Hans Freudenthal' s special role, not only in mathematics education, but also in the development of curriculum theory and research methodology.Hans Freudenthal had already earned his spurs as a research mathematician when he developed an interest in mathematics education and made himself acquainted with educational and psychological traditions in Europe and the US. Today, he is probably best known as one of the most in¯uential mathematics educators of his time.1 In this paper, we shall try to highlight some of Freudenthal' s main ideas, while acknowledging that we cannot do justice to his wide-ranging work ± even if we were able to. 2Our point of view will centre on curriculum theory and pedagogy, and we

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A question associated with the introduction of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is whether all participants profit equally from working in CSCL environments. This article reports on a review study into gender-related differences in participation in CSCL. As many of the processes in CSCL are similar to those in computer-mediated communication (CMC), studies into CMC are also included in the review. Male dominance is found to play a role in many CMC settings. A learning culture with an explicit focus on participation by all students seems to be related to a more gender-balanced participation in CMC, however. A tendency for boys to be more active participants than girls is also present in CSCL environments, but it is less pronounced than in CMC. This may be explained by the fact that participation is explicitly promoted in most CSCL environments. Gender differences in the character of students' contributions are found in both CMC and CSCL. It is concluded that in order to avoid gender-stereotyped participation and communication patterns, it is necessary to explicitly address inclusiveness as an aspect of a collaborative classroom culture. A plea is made for further research into differential participation by students in CSCL, and the effects thereof on cognitive and affective learning outcomes. Research should also focus on the question how classroom cultures can be promoted that support active participation of all students aimed at collaborative knowledge construction.

With regard to transfer, is it better to provide pupils with ready-made representations or is it more effective to scaffold pupils' thinking in the process of generating their own representations with the help of peers and under the guidance of a teacher in a process of guided co-construction? The sample comprises 10 classes and 239 Grade 5 primary school students, age 10-11 years. A pretest-posttest control group research design was used. In the experimental condition, pupils were taught to construct representations collaboratively as a tool in the learning of percentages and graphs. Children in the experimental condition outperformed control children on the posttest and transfer test. Both high-and low-achieving pupils profited from the intervention. This study shows that children who learn to design are in a better position to understand pictures, graphs, and models. They are more successful in solving new, complex mathematical problems.Keywords: mathematics education; learning; transfer; collaborative learning; providing versus generating; models; primary school Introduction In most research that focuses on the use of strategies in learning and problem solving, ready-made representations or models provided by the teacher or a textbook are regarded as proper objects of study (Hattie, Biggs, & Purdie, 1996). Research findings support the idea that representations are important for the learning of science and mathematics (Ainsworth, 2006;Gilbert & Boulter, 2000;Greer, 1997;Lehtinen & Hannula, 2006;Mayer, 1989;Perkins & Unger, 1999). Moreover, learning to design representations can be expected to promote problem solving in relation to both familiar and new problems. When students are actively involved in the construction and collaborative evaluation of representations, they develop mathematical knowledge that enables them to generate new solution processes. This article reports on a research project aimed at describing and analyzing the effects of an experimental mathematics program that focuses on the construction and use of student representations in primary mathematics education.