Reviews the historical use of each of the three algorithms used for subtraction in the United States: (1) the equal additions; (2) the decomposition; and (3) the Austrian method. Discusses the modification to the decomposition algorithm and gives a brief overview of the current status of subtraction algorithms. Contains 12 references. (Author/ASK)

Presents alternative equation-solving procedures that emphasize an examination of the steps or operations necessary to perform a calculation, followed by the inversion of those steps. The approach is especially attractive to students with limited mathematical skills. (Author/MKR)

Suggestions are given for teaching flowcharting at the elementary school level. A short list of sources for free materials on computers is included. (DT)

Teaching which does not in any significant way address the genesis of mathematical ideas hides the fact that mathematics is created by people; that it involves intuition, exploring, conjecturing, and reasoning; and that it is purposeful. Such teaching can give students appearance that much of mathematics is very arbitrary; it just falls from the…

Examines 250 sixth-grade students' understanding of arithmetic average by assessing their understanding of the computational algorithm. Results indicate that the majority of the students knew the "add-them-all-up-and-divide" averaging algorithm, but only half of the students were able to correctly apply the algorithm to solve a…

Suggests and illustrates ways in which systematic consideration of selected unary operations can be facilitated by using electronic calculators. Emphasis is placed upon unary operations suitable for exploration and investigation at the pre-algebra level, using calculation algorithms as a basis for generating examples and non-examples to develop…

This report illustrates a simple, short, yet relatively little known partial check on addition that elementary school pupils can be lead to discover, and later taught to understand. The process can also be used for subtraction and is viewed as more useful than the traditional check of casting out nines. (MP)

The author feels teaching division of fractions is worthwhile because it will help students understand other algorithms. (MK)

The early use of the distributive law can aid students in learning addition of fractions and provide rapid approaches to computation involving other operations. (SD)

Develops a division algorithm in terms of familiar manipulations of concrete objects and presents it with a series of questions for diagnosis of students' understanding of the algorithm in terms of the concrete model utilized. Also offers general guidelines for using concrete illustrations to explain algorithms and other mathematical principles.…

Describes a pattern which emerged from an examination of the digits of the squares of numbers. Provides eight examples having the pattern at the units or tens digit of the number. (YP)