Using Logo to work through a maze is described. Suggested programs to help students learn to debug programs are also included, along with the story of the original "computer bug." (MNS)

This paper is concerned with the role of meaning and understanding in the acquisition of computational skill in subtraction. Evidence on the syntactic nature of subtraction errors is reviewed, with common "bugs" described. Then, data collected from interviews with four children are summarized in terms of their semantics of concrete…

Assessment data and other research findings on fractions are briefly reviewed. These indicate that students are able to add and subtract fractions but have substantial difficulty finding and using common denominators. Selected results for nine-year-olds from the first and second national assessments of mathematics are used to portray what students…

Children's mental performance was studied in the context of arithmetic word problem solution. Response latency and error data indicated subtraction was more difficult than addition. Understanding children's problem solutions in terms of flexible strategy use and the fact that many errors have a systematic basis are important in studying children's…

Types of errors made by children in addition and subtraction are presented and discussed. Suggestions are given for testing, diagnosing, and prescribing for instruction. (MNS)

Diagnostic teaching is described and discussed. Different types of errors are explained and examples of errors and their possible diagnoses are given. (MK)

A study to determine if "random" or "careless" errors in multiplication made by individual students take on discernible patterns is described. Implications for teaching are discussed. (MK)

An exploratory investigation of various incorrect solution procedures used by students attempting to solve a variety of forms of open sentences is reported. The study identifies specific incorrect strategies, indicates their relative frequency of occurrence, and attempts to offer some explanation for certain of the incorrect procedures used. (MK)

A computer program is given which will generate a list of descriptions of the items to which a student has responded incorrectly on the Keymath Diagnostic Arithmetic Test. It is designed for the TRS-80, Model III, with two disk drives. The documentation lists all required materials, describes the six options and how to use them, indicates the…

Research recurrently indicates that children who have difficulty with arithmetic often use systematic routines that yield wrong answers. Recent research has focused less on identifying the most common errors among groups of children and more on analyzing individual children's errors. This paper considers the source of systematic errors in…

Sixth graders wrote solutions to the word problems in the Metropolitan Achievement Test. Errors were analyzed and classified. At least 52 percent of errors were computational or clerical and could not be attributed to reading difficulties. (SD)

The informal subtraction strategies that children develop are discussed in detail, with the role of the counting-down strategy described. Problems and remedies for difficulties caused by counting backward and the double count are also presented. (MNS)

Interviews were used to find the frequency of different types of errors made by 95 sixth-year Papua New Guinea students on a mathematics test. The general trend was the same as for western students, but the Papua New Guinea students made far fewer careless errors. (MNS)

An operational definition of careless errors was provided and used in an investigation of 50 children attending an international primary school in Lae, Papua New Guinea. Results indicated that mathematically competent and confident children tend to make a greater proportion of errors than other children. (MP)

Recommendations for remediation of 28 distinct common error patterns in arithmetic computation are described. (SD)