This article focuses on how the representational properties of manipulatives affect the strategies children employ in problem solving. Two studies examined the effect of physical materials on 4-7-year-old children's problem solving strategies in a numerical (i.e., additive composition) task. The first study showed how children not only identified…

There is a concern among educators in schools with high levels of poverty that students are lacking certain academic strategies, especially in mathematics. These students struggle to explore data systematically and procedurally. The purpose of this pre-posttest design study is to intentionally teach number sense skills in order to increase…

Estimation is an important skill for everyday living. Good estimators usually have a sound knowledge of basic facts, understand place value and use a variety of strategies to make their estimates. This paper describes an activity which is designed to provide students with opportunities to practice their rounding strategies with addition and…