This fourth book in the Mathematics Recovery series equips teachers with detailed pedagogical knowledge and resources for teaching number to 7 to 11-year olds. Drawing on extensive programs of research, curriculum development, and teacher development, the book offers a coherent, up-to-date approach emphasizing computational fluency and the…

This case study examined the performance of a 13-year-old highly skilled mental calculator on mental multiplication tasks. She solved difficult tasks by using various ingenious calculation methods, including distributing, factoring, and recalling the product directly. Implications for instruction are reported. (Author/RH)

Studied for three years were eight Swedish classes with pupils aged 10-12 using calculators whenever they could be of use, along with experimental textbooks. The experimental classes were as competent as control classes in mental arithmetic and calculations with simple algorithms, and had better understanding of numbers and problem solving. (MNS)

Reports a study to explore student's computational performance on computer-administered testing situations while at the computer. Students from grades 3-6 (n=100) were randomly assigned to treatment order, computer assessment first or paper/pencil assessment first. Significant differences occurred in three areas: completion time, number of mental…

A framework is presented for characterizing competence for cognitive tasks, with a detailed hypothesis about competence for counting by typical 5-year-old children. It is proposed that competence has three main components that are called conceptual, procedural, and utilizational competence. Conceptual competence, which is discussed in greatest…

Considered was the question of whether a strategy that was widely used by young children in clinical interviews occurred in less structured situations. Findings indicated that it did not occur in the performance of a routine counting task by preschoolers. Reasons for apparent discrepancies are discussed. (CW)

This study systematically examined developmental changes in the flexibility of preschool children's counting skills by assessing their use of counting to solve different kinds of quantitative problems at several preschool age levels. Three principal kinds of quantitative problems were considered: (1) quantifying a given set; (2) generating a set…

This study: (1) documented the spontaneous derived facts strategies (DGSs) that second-grade children (N=23) used; (2) investigated how training in use of DFSs influenced the solution strategies children used to solve addition and subtraction problems; and (3) examined the role of DFSs in the transition to recall of number facts. (JN)

Sixteen Brazilian third graders aged 8-13 were given problems involving multidigit computation. School-taught algorithms were likely to be used in school-taught problems, with little carry-over to real problem situations, but resulted in more incorrect answers. (MNS)

For six weeks, pupils in grades two, three, and four used either flash cards or a microcomputer program to practice basic subtraction and division facts. Equivalent learning resulted. (MNS)

Discussed are students' understandings of the relationship between fraction and decimal interpretations of rational numbers, where both interpretations are represented symbolically. The methodology employed in this study, interviews, results, and a discussion of the implications of the results are presented. (CW)

Described is a procedure for teaching children to learn to count on with finger patterns after they have learned to count with objects. The technique has been found to be successful with children of all ability levels at grades one and two. (RH)

Describes a research project designed to monitor the transition from work based on concrete materials to the more formalized aspect of mathematics found in secondary schools. The topic of subtraction was chosen by three teachers who were involved in the investigation. (PK)

Mastering the basic number combinations involves discovering, labeling, and internalizing relationships, not merely drill-based memorization. Counting procedures and thinking strategies are components, and it may be that using stored procedures, rules, or principles to quickly construct combinations is cognitively more economical than relying…

The author first corrects Baroody's description of the network retrieval model for basic number facts, in which facts are stored in memory and retrieved as needed. He then indicates weaknesses in Baroody's argument. (MNS)