The article reports aspects of the evolution of a teaching approach over repeated trials for beginning symbolic algebra. The teaching approach emphasized the structural similarity between arithmetic and algebraic expressions and aimed at supporting students in making a transition from arithmetic to beginning algebra. The study was conducted with…

The interactive effects between mathematical achievement and manipulative v symbolic instruction with junior high school students are examined in this report. Low-achieving students benefited more from a manipulative approach to logical connectives, whereas high achieving students found the symbolic approach to be more effective. (MP)