Three different methods of teaching fraction computation were compared using community college student scores on measures of fraction computation, fraction understanding, and attitude towards mathematics. One method used conventional algorithms; the second, a control for the effect of using a calculator, used conventional algorithms and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a student's confidence in his computational procedures for each of the four basic arithmetic operations and the student's achievement on computation problems. All of the students in grades 5 through 8 in one school system (a total of 6186 students) were given a questionnaire to…

Boys' and girls' achievement in arithmetic computation was compared with their feelings of self-confidence in performing computations. A total of 2654 girls and 2786 boys from grades 5 through 8 in one school system participated. Each student was given a test to assess the degree of self-confidence in methods of performing the four basic…

A previous study had confirmed that a substantial number of low achievers in grades 5 through 8 had high algorithmic confidence in each of the four arithmetic operations with whole numbers. The purpose of the present study was to follow up the results through interviewing low achievement-high confidence students in order to ascertain if they…

Two questions were investigated in this study: (1) How did the computational proficiency of sixth graders who had one year's experience with Developing Mathematical Processes (DMP) materials compare with an equivalent group of students who used the usual textbook program; and (2) What occurs when sixth graders study algorithms as sequences of rule…