The author argues that the combined effects of adoption of the metric system and the popularity of hand calculators will necessitate curricular changes. Among these will be earlier and stronger emphasis on decimals as well as the introduction of new topics. (SD)

Evaluated the psychometric utility of a home literacy environment measure. Examined the measure's accuracy in predicting unique variance in children's performance on academic achievement measures after accounting for other important sources of variance, such as IQ and maternal education. Claims that this measure is psychometrically strong and…

Argues that the use of number sense can assist learners in their understanding of and calculating in mathematics. Reports on those aspects that were investigated with primary teachers' preservice teacher education students (N=6) at the commencement of a semester unit in mathematics education. Concludes that the students had at least a limited…

Describes six key practices vital to a problem-centered instructional approach to number sense and computational strategies. Also presents actual classroom examples of strategies. (AIM)

Examined the change in number knowledge and number strategies from school entry to year end among kindergartners. Found a wide range of knowledge and a broad span of achievements at both times. Overall, many children displayed considerable numerical competence at school entry, most displayed marked improvement over the year, whereas a small…

Understanding of the cardinality principle in children with Williams Syndrome (WS) was compared to that of typically developing children. Findings indicated that such understanding was extremely delayed in WS children and only at the level predicted by their visuo-spatial mental age. Findings suggested that visuo-spatial ability played a greater…

Mental arithmetic strategies were studied with 91 Dutch third graders who computed by splitting off 10s and units in both numbers or counting by 10s up or down from the first unsplit number. Results reveal flexibility in changing between and within strategy use. Implications for instruction are discussed. (SLD)

Presents an issue that arises in every country: How can teachers best help children master basic addition and subtraction facts? Discusses how this is handled in China and highlights the impact that language has on how children think about numbers. (KHR)

Discusses a primary teaching method for the concept of negative numbers. Describes some activities for teaching the concept. (YP)

What is number sense, why it is important, how it is taught, and how it is measured are each discussed. Examples with concrete materials, calculators, and pattern recognition are included. (MNS)

The focus is on number sense in which students use the language, concepts, and operations of mathematics to find the desired numbers on a hundred chart. Worksheets for levels one-two, three-four, five-six, and seven-eight are included. (MNS)

Measurement experiences can promote and illustrate number work in an intuitively satisfying way. Some current practices that are counterproductive for developing number sense and some alternative strategies that are more constructive are included in discussions of the approximate nature of measurement, realistic measurement, and work with rational…

Discusses a counting system and number operations. Suggests six distinct areas in a "number" subject: one-to-one correspondences; simple counting process; complicated counting process; addition and multiplication; algorithms for the operations; and the decimal system. (YP)

Briefly presented are suggestions on using exercises in number patterns in second-year algebra and factoring quadratics in a 10th-grade enrichment class. (MNS)

The question is raised: What comes first: rules of calculation or the meaning of concepts? The pressures on the teacher to teach and simplify knowledge to algorithms are discussed. The relation between conceptual and procedural knowledge in school mathematics and consequences for the teacher's professional knowledge are considered. (DC)