In this paper we discuss a study that looks at the kinds of practices that Latino parents use to support their children's learning of mathematics. Some of our findings reveal that parents react to their children's mathematics education looking back to their own experiences as students. Thus, in some cases, they are faced with pedagogical…

This paper proposes a semantic analysis in which meanings of word problems are structures that include class and order relations, and suggests a hypothesis of developmental levels that can account for children's performance of these problems at various ages. The different kinds of problems vary in the complexity of semantic structures and the…

Preschool children's problem-solving strategies on structured and unstructured number tasks were compared in this study. Participants were 20 four-years-olds and 20 five-year-olds. Each child was administered a number conservation, addition and subtraction, and division task. The addition and subtraction task contained trials which were designed…

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…

This study involved 48 students ages 9 to 12. The 29 experimental group students, divided into small groups, performed learning exercises designed to improve skills in analyzing and processing expressions frequently included in addition and multiplication problems. The exercises helped significantly to improve problem-solving performance. (MNS)

Work by Dutch and Belgian researchers on arithmetic problems involving addition and subtraction is reviewed, especially word problems. It is an attempt to synthesize the research on the relationship between instruction in the part-whole line diagram and the solution of problems. Both logical and psychological interpretations are discussed. (MNS)

The effect of instruction in addition and subtraction concepts and skills on the processes first-grade pupils use to solve verbal problems was studied. Children represented solutions in individual interviews. Results indicated pupils shifted from a concrete direct modeling approach to a more unified conception that incorporated symbolic…

Using error analysis and individual interviews, the problem-solving actions of first and second graders were analyzed. Shortcomings of children's knowledge and solution strategies were seen to be overcome by instruction. A control group, with usual arithmetic instruction, and an experimental group were established and the hypothesized…

Reports on two studies that use new tasks to compare English children's use of strategies that reverse the order of addends in solving addition problems. Shows that knowledge of commutativity among young children is widespread, but does not establish a direct link between this knowledge and children's choice of addition strategies. (DSK)

This paper presents the results of three experiments studying routine problem-solving tasks in simple addition and subtraction. Indications are that children tend to solve such problems by internalized counting procedures which may be learned independently as a consequence of practice in problem solving. Brief descriptions of exploratory studies…

The paragraph unit that constitutes an addition or subtraction word problem text is discussed and the logical conditions such problems must fulfill are formulated. An attempt is then made to formulate the semantic conditions which will define well-formed addition and subtraction texts. (MN)

Specific instruction in different contexts provide needed background for solving addition and subtraction problems. The categories of problems and relative difficulties are presented, followed by an explanation of a successful instructional sequence. (MNS)

Presents activities involving the addition of antinumbers (which uses novel numerical characters); a puzzle which combines practice in working with polynomials and solving simple equations with intriguing facts about turkets; and searching for the number of different right triangles in a given square grid (which helps develop spatial…

Analyzed conceptual and linguistic complexities of matching situation word problems. Found a four-level progression in conceptualizing and solving these problems: Relational ("who had more/less" but not "how much more/less"); Language Cue (equalizing or compare language); Understand Matching Situations (difference between two…