Recent research has highlighted the role of functional relationships in introducing elementary school students to algebraic thinking. This functional approach is here considered to study essential components of algebraic thinking such as generalization and its representation, as well as the strategies used by students and their connection with…

An understanding of the equal sign is a fundamental concept for early algebra. While literature claimed that Chinese students commonly master the relational understanding of the equal sign in the elementary school, these claims are under-researched. This study used the Mathematics Equivalence Assessment with 237 Chinese Grade 5 students. The…

Early algebraic thinking is the reasoning engaged in by 5- to 12-year-olds as they build meaning for the objects and ways of thinking to be encountered within the later study of secondary school algebra. Ever since the 1990s when interest in developing algebraic thinking in the earlier grades began to emerge, there has been a steady growth in the…

Supporting students with mathematics learning difficulties (MLD) as they transition from arithmetic to algebra remains a challenge within the special education and mathematics education research communities. This dissertation includes 3 manuscripts focused on how fifth graders with MLD develop algebraic understandings related to equivalence and…

This extensively updated teaching resource provides over 100 engaging, full-color visuals with explanations of how they can be used to stimulate mathematics learning, to explain mathematical concepts, and to assess students' mathematical understanding in grades K-8. Readers are provided with a strong mathematical background, downloadable copies of…

The purpose of this work is to explore alternative geometric pedagogical perspectives concerning justifications to 'fast' multiplication algorithms in a way that fosters opportunities for skill and understanding within younger, or less algebraically inclined, learners. Drawing on a visual strategy to justify these algorithms creates pedagogical…

Solving problems involving absolute value is one of the hardest topics for students learning in elementary algebra course. This is an important topic in student's mathematics life since absolute value functions are important example of a function which is continuous on the real line but not differentiable at the origin. A deep understanding of…

Learning progressions have become an important construct in educational research, in part because of their ability to inform the design of coherent standards, curricula, assessments, and instruction. In this paper, I discuss how a learning progressions approach has guided our development of an early algebra innovation for the elementary grades and…

Generalisation is a skill that enables learners to acquire knowledge in general, and mathematical knowledge in particular. It is a core aspect of algebraic thinking and, in particular, of functional thinking, as a type of algebraic thinking. Introducing primary school children to functional thinking fosters their ability to generalise, explain and…

In this paper, we discuss the theoretical foundation and implementation of two alternative instructional courses that aimed to support the development of elementary school students' early algebraic thinking. Both courses approached three basic algebra content strands: generalized arithmetic, functional thinking and modelling languages. The courses…

Pre-symbolic algebra has been advocated for as a mathematics topic elementary students should experience to better prepare them for middle and high school algebra. However, most elementary pre-service teachers have little to no experience with pre-symbolic algebra. The study reported here analysed the struggles that ten elementary pre-service…

Children need support in the early elementary grades to construct a deep, formal understanding of foundational prealgebraic concepts. In this article, the authors share recommendations for teaching one such foundational concept--mathematical equivalence. First, they define mathematical equivalence and discuss research supporting the benefits of…

Algebraic thinking is a method of solving math problems that stresses the significance of general connections. Excellent algebraic thinking necessitates strong symbolization and generalization ability. Students aged 7 to 15 are at the Piaget thinking stage's formal operational stage. Teachers, especially those working with secondary school…

Is it possible to identify instructional practices that have an impact on student learning in mathematics? The study described here is part of ongoing efforts to understand and characterize effective instruction. We drew on the work of several recently developed frameworks for understanding teaching effectiveness to develop a protocol for studying…

Recent scholarship around teaching elementary mathematics supports the learning of early algebra with 5- to 12-year olds. However, in spite of the recognition of the affordances of early algebra, issues about how to introduce it remain open. Within this context, Davydov's work is often cited as a source of impressive demonstration of young…