Despite the importance of computational estimation skill for the improvement of number sense, little research exists on preservice teachers' estimation skills and their view on estimation in the US context. This study examined the computational estimation skill of 58 preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) and its relationship to their views of the…

Presents solutions for a problem concerning doubling a recipe from a previous article on number concepts in the October 1997 issue. (ASK)

Presents some results of a study on teaching negative numbers. Focuses on the identification of addition and subtraction, the use of the number line, additive problem solving, and the possibility of following several sequences of numerical extensions. Indicates the importance of previous ideas on positive numbers and how these ideas influence the…

Presents activities that focus on number sense. (KHR)

Describes a problem that appeared in the April, 1999 issue of this journal and analyzes student responses and misconceptions. The problem concerns exponential progressions. (KHR)

Empty food containers can be used to have students devise mathematical problems. Sample questions that might be asked about two food boxes are included. (MNS)

Interrelationships between problem solving and number sense are discussed. Suggestions are given on helping children to search for a solution process and to reject unreasonable answers. The teacher's role in developing number-sense skills with problem-solving tasks is also discussed. (MNS)

Analyzes a didactical sequence for the teaching of addition and subtraction procedures and algorithms. Uses didactical procedures by children in problem solving activities in order to gain a better understanding of the interaction between numbers, numeration, and operations knowledge which are involved in the construction of addition and…

The focus is on multi-step problems, with suggestions on helping students understand the mathematical relations, decide which computational procedures to use, and identify the sequence in which computations should be performed. An activity to aid understanding of variables is also included. (MNS)

Results are reported from a study of the problem-solving abilities of Swedish children aged 12-13. Illustrative problems and conclusions are given to describe a method for defining and testing problem solving. (MNS)

This document is a collection of over 200 classroom-ready activities which cover the five strands--Number, Space, Measurement, Chance and Data, and Problem Solving--outlined in Mathematics: A Curriculum Profile for Australian Schools. Each activity is a separate photocopy master, the front for the students to use and the back an assessment page…

A game similar to Nim is described. Students in grades three through six have played the game in conjunction with the study of modular arithmetic,and have been able to develop winning strategies. (SD)

This study investigated the effect of initial instruction on the processes children use to solve basic addition and subtraction verbal problems. Prior to instruction and following a 2-month introductory unit on addition and subtraction, 43 first-grade children were individually tested on verbal problems representing different models of addition…

Two activities are presented. The first involves geometric concepts using the alphabet, while the second is a game to provide practice in finding factors of composite numbers. (MNS)