This study examined the influence of addition and subtraction practice embedded within a word-problem intervention for Grade 3 students experiencing word-problem difficulty. Students (N = 448) were randomly assigned to one of two variants of a word-problem intervention or a business-as-usual comparison condition. Within the word-problem…

Early detection of and relevant information on children's mathematical difficulties is important to initiate targeted teaching and intervention. This study investigated the extent to which strategy use in single-digit addition provides additional predictive information about 61 grade one children's (6-year-old) mathematical achievement 3 years…

This study investigated the effects of working memory load (WML) and automaticity on mental addition through an examination of both task and individual characteristics within the framework of cognitive load theory. Results from 73 fourth graders showed that WML, automaticity, and their interaction had significant effects on mental addition.…

Fraction arithmetic facility is fundamental to learning more advanced math topics. However, attaining the ability to add and subtract fractions is hard for many students. The present longitudinal study examined students' growth on simple addition and subtraction word problems between fourth and sixth grades (N = 536). Latent class growth analyses…

This study aims to examine the differences in numerosity estimation on a right-to-left number line between second- to fourth-grade students and undergraduate students, together with whether number-line estimation is related to basic arithmetic tasks (addition and subtraction). Hence, 53 Arabic-speaking children and 63 Arabic-speaking adults…

During a time when students are accessing instruction virtually because of COVID-19, reflecting on the sixth of the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP 6) is a vital step for educators to take. Although the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (NGA Center and CCSSO 2010) identifies SMP 6 as Attend to precision, associated expertise…

This study established an online game-based assessment to explore third and fourth graders' performance of computational estimation in addition and subtraction. Students' computational estimation strategies could be automatically recorded and classified in this assessment, and the Higher-Order DINA model was used as a measurement model in order to…

Many children fail to master fraction arithmetic even after years of instruction. A recent theory of fraction arithmetic (Braithwaite, Pyke, & Siegler, 2017) hypothesized that this poor learning of fraction arithmetic procedures reflects poor conceptual understanding of them. To test this hypothesis, we performed three experiments examining…

Many children fail to master fraction arithmetic even after years of instruction. A recent theory of fraction arithmetic (Braithwaite, Pyke, & Siegler, in press) hypothesized that this poor learning of fraction arithmetic procedures reflects poor conceptual understanding of them. To test this hypothesis, we performed three experiments…

Algorithms and representations have been an important aspect of the work of mathematics, especially for understanding concepts and communicating ideas about concepts and mathematical relationships. They have played a key role in various mathematics standards documents, including the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. However, there have…

The involvement of working memory (WM) was examined in two types of mental calculation tasks: exact and approximate. Specifically, children attending Grades 3 and 4 of primary school were involved in three experiments that examined the role of verbal and visuospatial WM in solving addition problems presented in vertical or horizontal format. For…

The maturation of multiplicative thinking is key to student progress in middle school as rational number, ratio, and proportion concepts are encountered. But many students arrive from the intermediate grades and falter in developing this essential disposition. Elementary students have historically learned multiplication and division as operation…

This paper describes the Rational Number Project (RNP), teaching experiments concerned with the teaching and learning of fractions among 4th and 5th grade students. Interviews with 4th grade students who used the RNP curriculum and with students who used a traditional curriculum were conducted by RNP staff as well as classroom teachers. This paper…

Fourth graders' (n=117) solutions to addition problems were analyzed in terms of standard or idiosyncratic written algorithms. Students had not previously been taught pencil-and-paper algorithms. Preference for horizontal layout, working from left to right, and a wide variety of written algorithms were found. (Contains 48 references.) (Author/MKR)

Assessed the achievement in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of 93 fourth graders before and after they received either computer or traditional classroom drill-and-practice instruction. Students who received computer instruction showed greater increases in achievement scores in subtraction and multiplication than did students…