Two sequences of activities were developed to provide instruction on the algorithms for addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers. In the integrated sequence (I) the mechanics of "carrying" and "borrowing" were treated as a single process "regrouping." In the sequential treatment (S) the addition algorithm was developed before the subtraction…

Two sequences of activities were developed to provide instruction on the algorithms for addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers. In the integrated sequence (I) the mechanics of "carrying" and "borrowing" were treated as a single process "regrouping." In the sequential treatment (S) the addition algorithm was developed before the subtraction…

The relative effectiveness of three methods of teaching fraction computation in the context of the community college was investigated. The use of calculators was a special focus of the study. The three methods were: (1) conventional algorithms with no calculator, (2) conventional algorithms with calculator, and (3) alternative algorithms using…

The study's purpose was to investigate the differential effects on the achievement of second-grade students that could be attributed to three instructional sequences for the learning of the addition and subtraction algorithms. One sequence presented the addition algorithm first (AS), the second presented the subtraction algorithm first (SA), and…

An analysis is made of the extent to which specific division skills are retained from fourth to fifth grade, with results showing a significant loss in ability during the summer. Implications for instruction are included. (DT)

The purpose of the study was to compare the results obtained from a group of fourth-grade students taught to add and subtract rational numbers through the use of field postulates and other properties of whole numbers with fourth-grade students taught by a standard method using objects and the number line. Eight classes of 30 students each…

Twelve fourth-grade classes in two schools were taught division using either the subtractive approach to the Greenwood algorithm or a partitioning approach to the standard algorithm. Analysis of class means on immediate, retention, and delayed retention tests indicated that use of the standard algorithm was more effective. (JP)

Speed and accuracy in adding a colunm of one addend numbers directly down a column was compared to adding by looking for combinations which add to ten. Ninety-two fourth-grade subjects learned one of these two methods for one week and then learned the other method the following week. Using timed tests after each treatment, it was found that the…

Individual fifth grade classrooms in five schools of differing socioeconomic levels were used in a study to analyze the reaction of the school to the experimental format, the adequacy of the test instrument, and the differential effects of the experimental treatments. Students were instructed in one of two experimental addition algorithms,…

One hundred seventy-six seventh grade students underwent a recorded interview where each was given a set of computational exercises and asked to say aloud his thinking as he worked them. The most frequently used strategies in computations with whole numbers and fractions are described in detail, an analysis of the nature of wrong answers is…

When two methods of transforming numbers from one base to another were taught sequentially, the first interfered with learning of the second. (SD)

Reviews the mathematical properties of algorithms and problems which can not be resolved by present methods in mathematics. (SL)

Second-grade students were randomly assigned to either an instructional unit within which addition and subtraction of two digit numbers were treated as a single integrated process of regrouping or one which developed the addition and subtractive algorithms sequentially. Periodic assessments favored the sequential approach, but differences were not…

The research reported in this paper was designed to analyze the incidence of use of higher-order rules by students solving geometric construction problems. A carefully selected set of construction problems was subjected to rigorous a priori analysis by mathematics educators to determine what basic and second-order rules might be used by able high…

Two methods of adding columns of single digits were compared in terms of the speed and accuracy with which sums are produced. The direct method (successive addition) was found to be better than the method of looking for combinations which sum to ten. (SD)