This study describes how 24 third graders (8-9 years old) relate and represent the relationships between variables when working with a functional thinking problem. This aspect contributes to providing insights about how elementary school students attend properties and relationships between covarying quantities rather than isolated computations.…

A theoretical model describing young students' (Grade 3) arithmetic-algebraic structure sense was formulated and validated empirically (n = 130), hypothesizing that young students' arithmetic-algebraic structure sense consists of five distinct but correlated factors; structure in numerical equivalence and word-problem modeling, structure in…

Given the relevance of graphs of functions, we consider their inclusion in primary education from the functional approach to early algebra. The purpose of this article is to shed some light on the students' production and reading of graphs when they solved generalization problems from a functional thinking approach. We aim to explore how 3rd and…

We conducted a randomized control trial assessing the effects of two variants of word-problem intervention with third graders (n = 304) experiencing mathematics difficulty. Students were assigned to a business-as-usual condition (BaU) or one of two variants of word-problem intervention. One variant included a pre-algebraic reasoning component…

This paper explores Year 3 Irish students' problem-solving strategies when responding to a skyscraper growing pattern problem. Students' strategies reveal their understandings of multiplicative thinking, pattern, and algebraic reasoning. The version of the growing pattern lesson was that a 'teaching through problem solving' approach was taken,…

In this investigation, the extent to which differences were present in the mathematics achievement by the ethnicity/race of Grade 3 students in Texas were analyzed. Data obtained from the Texas Education Agency Public Education Information Management System for all Texas Grade 3 students who took the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness…

The overwhelming presence of a procedural meaning of equality and equations reported in previous research has led to a call for suitable pedagogical interventions to nurture a relational meaning of these concepts. This paper is a response to that call. Drawing on the theory of objectification, the first part deals with the configuration of a Grade…

Algebraic thinking is an important part of mathematical thinking, and researchers agree that it is beneficial to develop algebraic thinking from an early age. However, there are few examples of what can be taken as indicators of young students' algebraic thinking. The results contribute to filling that gap by analyzing and exemplifying young…

This study aimed to examine whether a computational thinking (CT) intervention related to (a) number knowledge and arithmetic (b) algebra, and (c) geometry impacts students' learning performance in primary schools. To this end, a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design was employed, with 61 students assigned to the experimental group and 47…

We describe 24 third (8-9 years old) and 24 fifth (10-11 years old) graders' generalization working with the same problem involving a function. Generalizing and representing functional relationships are considered key elements in a functional approach to early algebra. Focusing on functional relationships can provide insights into how students…

Functional thinking is an established route into algebra. However, the learning mechanisms that support the transition from arithmetic to functional thinking remain unclear. In the current study we explored children's pre-instructional intuitive reactions to functional thinking content, relying on a conceptual change perspective and using mixed…

Fractions are foundational for success in algebra and STEM, but they are notoriously difficult for students. In past work, two separate branches of research from psychology and math education have studied fractions knowledge using different, isolated approaches. In this dissertation, I synthesize research from both fields about proportional…

This article describes part of the findings of a teaching experiment whose objective is to investigate the algebraic abilities of elementary students when they solve situations that involve a functional relationship. In particular, we focus on describing the use and meanings attributed to letters by third-year primary school students when faced…

The issue of early algebraic thinking is of great importance for the school life of young students. In this paper, the Father Woodland, a puzzle-like environment, is presented aiming to facilitate the use of algebraic thinking in early schooling. Seventy grade 3 students participated and their work was examined within Radford's (2011, 2014)…

This study aims to understand the instructional interactions that foster students' generalizing. By analysing video-recorded lessons from 13 different Grade 3 classrooms in which an early algebra intervention was implemented, activities related to generalizing and students' generalizing activities were identified, and the nature of the…