Discussed are the results of the second National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment concerning children's ability to solve verbal problems. The data indicate that the commonly held view that children cannot solve word problems may be an oversimplification. (Author/TG) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in…

This book is a compilation of recent research on the development of multiplicative concepts. The sections and chapters are: (1) Theoretical Approaches: "Children's Multiplying Schemes" (L. Steffe), "Multiplicative Conceptual Field: What and Why?" (G. Vergnaud), "Extending the Meaning of Multiplication and Division" (B. Greer); (2) The Role of the…

Discussed is research which shows, in contrast to the dominant impression given by Piaget's work, that before the onset of schooling the young child possesses several kinds of fundamental "intuitions" concerning numbers. (Author/TG)

This material is designed to examine the research on how children acquire basic addition and subtraction concepts and skills. Two major lines of theories of the development of basic number concepts, called logical concept and quantification skill approaches, are identified. Major recurring issues in the development of early number concepts are…

This report opens by asking how operations in general, and addition and subtraction in particular, are characterized for elementary school students, and examines the "standard" instruction of these topics through secondary schooling. Some common errors and/or "sloppiness" in the typical textbook presentations are noted, and…