Much of the work around ideas that form the basis of the NCTM Standards indicates that the traditional classroom needs to be changed if more effective learning (learning that is more conceptual and less formulaic) is to take place. The summaries of articles posted to the group include implications for classroom practice.

The Forum offers the only newsgroup of this kind, where research summaries are prepared for purposes of discussion by a wide community of educators, many of whom are not familiar with the literature summarized. Learning and Mathematics Discussion Sessions provide readers with an opportunity to raise questions, share insights, and test the waters.

Each discussion consists of a summary of work by math researchers or educational psychologists, followed by an open discussion among readers. A new summary is posted every two weeks, although some discussions last well beyond this time frame. We offer here a web archive with an introduction to the series by Prof. E. Klotz, Director of the Math Forum, and Prof. K. Ann Renninger, Forum Research Coordinator, and newsgroup threads that provide summaries of some seminal articles and readers' reactions.

In addition, annotated bibiographies for a number of the topics discussed are provided:

1. Alternative Instruction and Alternative, Performance-Based Assessment
2. Cross-Age Tutoring
3. Girls' Attitudes, Self-Expectations, and Performance in Math
4. Limited English Proficiency Students and Mathematics
5. Mathematics and Motivation