The purpose of this study was to find out what difficulties Nicaraguan children encounter in doing addition and subtraction exercises. The results were used in the design of radio lessons in mathematics for elementary school. The performance on addition exercises is analyzed with a view toward identifying the distinct skills that are required by…

Speed and accuracy in adding a colunm of one addend numbers directly down a column was compared to adding by looking for combinations which add to ten. Ninety-two fourth-grade subjects learned one of these two methods for one week and then learned the other method the following week. Using timed tests after each treatment, it was found that the…

Fourteen third graders were given numerical computation and division-with-remainder (DWR) problems both before and after they were taught the division algorithm in classrooms. Their solutions were examined. The results show that students' initial acquisition of the division algorithm did improve their performance in numerical division computations…

Forty-eight first and second graders were taught an algorithm for solving concept-attainment problems. Using a 2 x 2 factorial design, a comparison was made of the effects of (a) reverse versus forward sequencing of instruction and (b) elicited verbalization of the algorithm versus nonverbal practice. Reverse groups outperformed forward groups on…

This study investigated the relationship between the level of conservation of displaced volume and the degree to which sixth graders learn the volume algorithm of a cuboid, i.e., volume = length x width x height (v = l x w x h). The problem is a consequence of an apparent discrepancy between the present school programs and the theory of Piaget…

This paper discusses the results of questionnaires sent to principals and teachers on the subject of manipulatives, computer, and calculator availability and use in the classroom. The study was done in order to develop a better understanding of teachers' inservice needs. Results of the study include: (1) most teachers have at least some…

Adverse effects of material rewards on Wechsler subscale performance may be the result of a reward-produced developmental regression. To further explore that idea through replicating earlier findings with adults, and to extend the enquiry to children, selected Wechsler subscales were administered to 32 subjects at each of three ages (5, 10, and 18…

This study was designed to follow up earlier work on mapping instruction. The two main goals were to: (1) test the effectiveness of mapping instruction as a general cure for "buggy" subtraction algorithms, and (2) explore two alternative explanations of how this new form of instruction works. It was hypothesized that mapping cures bugs…

The use of counting for subtraction was investigated. Counting for subtraction is related to counting-on for addition and to four skills: the ability to use the subtrahend cardinality to gain entry into the count sequence, the ability to use the minuend cardinality to gain entry into the count sequence, the ability to use the count sequence to…

Discusses the Science Library Catalog, an online catalog intended for use by children at the Los Angeles Public Library, and describes the process of reorganizing the MARC-based database by using clustering algorithms to extend the Dewey Decimal Classification. Examples of screen displays are included. (18 references) (LRW)