Computational Thinking (CT) has become popular in recent years and has been recognized as an essential skill for everyone in the digital age. CT literature, however, is at an early stage of development, and there is no consensus among researchers/scholars in the field. To date, many have been unable to concretely explain what CT is, or how to…

Computational thinking (CT) has been an increasing focus of research and practice since the seminal paper by Wing in 2006, especially in pre-college (K-12) education. Barr and Stephenson defined CT as a problem-solving methodology that can be automated, transferred, and applied across disciplines. With the challenges of fitting CT into already…

Despite questions about validity and reliability, the use of value-added estimation methods has moved beyond academic research into state accountability systems for teachers, schools, and teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Prior studies of value-added measurement for TPPs test the validity of researcher-designed models and find that measuring…

A continuous and curriculum-based assessment method, Precision Learning Assessment (PLA), which integrates precision teaching and norm-referenced techniques, was applied to a math computation curriculum for 214 third graders. The resulting districtwide learning curves defining average annual progress through the computation curriculum provided…

Several ideas for questions and settings for interviews are presented. It is noted that although subtraction is used as an example in each case, most of the material can be easily adapted to the other basic operations. Many problems are noted with standard diagnostic tests and use of them is discouraged. (MP)

This study, involving 40 students (grades 2-8) with learning disabilities, found that students who participated in curriculum-based measurement test-taking strategy training scored higher on a posttreatment computation test than students without the strategy training. Use of a goal strategy did not result in any achievement differences.…

Diagnostic interviews were conducted with third graders to determine why they made mistakes on sixteen arithmetical tasks. A modified version of the Newman method of analyzing errors is discussed and applied to these interviews. (MP)

Offers seven criteria for developing mathematical thinking, plus suggestions for teaching and assessing students' progress that are compatible with each learning criterion. Provides evaluation sheets that help the teacher assess and grade students on the criteria. (10 references) (MDH)

Detection of calculation errors, operation errors, and unanswerable problems was studied for 78 third graders and 77 fifth graders. The relationship between mathematics achievement and error detection was also examined. Older children and high achievers detected more errors than did younger students and low achievers. (SLD)

Presents a study of 87 second graders to demonstrate that achievement tests in primary mathematics emphasize pupil's lower-order thinking by comparing answers to interview questions from constructivist and traditionally instructed groups. Results indicated that constructivist instructed students demonstrated superior higher-order thinking on tasks…

The goal of this book is to help students make sense of mathematics and become confident in their ability to do so. Section 1: "Foundations of Teaching Mathematics," includes chapters entitled: (1) "Teaching Mathematics: Reflections and Directions"; (2) "Exploring What It Means to Do Mathematics"; (3) "Developing Understanding in Mathematics"; (4)…