Our work investigated how six primary school students used a non-traditional method for adding and subtracting: the ABN method, a Spanish acronym for Open (method) Based on Numbers. Commognitive theory [Sfard, A. 2008. "Thinking as Communicating: Human Development, the Growth of Discourses, and Mathematizing." New York: Cambridge…

This article presents a case study of two Grade 5 boys' argumentation concerning addition and subtraction of negative numbers while using an interactive tablet-based application simulating positive and negative tiles. We examine the properties of integers they conjectured, and the kinds of evidence and arguments they used to support their…

This article illustrates how teachers can use number lines to support students with or at risk for learning disabilities (LD) in mathematics. Number lines can be strategically used to help students understand relations among numbers, approach number combinations (i.e., basic facts), as well as represent and solve addition and subtraction problems.…

This study examined the influence of addition and subtraction practice embedded within a word-problem intervention for Grade 3 students experiencing word-problem difficulty. Students (N = 448) were randomly assigned to one of two variants of a word-problem intervention or a business-as-usual comparison condition. Within the word-problem…

The effects of whole number computation interventions among school students with learning disabilities in Grades K to 5 were examined using a multilevel meta-analysis. Applying a correlated and hierarchical effect model of robust variance estimation, we examined the intervention effects among 15 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations (two…

As students develop understanding and fluency in single-digit operations such as addition, they develop sophisticated strategies and number sense (magnitude, number order, and composition). Deficits in number sense and reliance on inefficient approaches can lead to struggle in mathematics. Intervention research in this area reported effects on…

Researchers determined virtual manipulatives, on their own or as part of an instructional sequence, to be an evidence-based practice for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; Long et al., 2022). Yet, the majority of research looking at virtual manipulative-based instructional sequences involves the phases learned in a…

Fraction arithmetic facility is fundamental to learning more advanced math topics. However, attaining the ability to add and subtract fractions is hard for many students. The present longitudinal study examined students' growth on simple addition and subtraction word problems between fourth and sixth grades (N = 536). Latent class growth analyses…

The idea of using fingers as a key component in arithmetic development has received a great deal of support, much of which is based on neuroscientific evidence. However, this body of work pays limited attention to how fingers are used and possible different outcomes in arithmetic problem solving. The aim of our paper, based on an analysis of 126…

In this paper, we report how 5-year-olds' arithmetic skills developed through participation in an 8-month-long intervention. The intervention program aimed to enhance the children's ways of experiencing numbers' part-part-whole relations as a basis for arithmetic skills and was built on principles from the variation theory of learning. The report…

Children with mathematical difficulties need to spend more time than typically achieving children on solving even simple equations. Since these tasks already require a larger share of their cognitive resources, additional demands imposed by the need to switch between tasks may lead to a greater decline of performance in children with mathematical…

In the USA, the Common Core Standards in Mathematics for the early grades (K-3) are designed to build on and develop students' number sense as students gain understanding of the structures of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. It is well understood in teaching circles that subtraction is notoriously more difficult for students…

The purpose of this study is to electrophysiologically assess the effect of an individualized education program supported with musical activities on the success of primary school students with computational difficulties. A mixed-methods design consisting of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed as the research model. The research group…

Skills and understanding of operations with negative numbers, which are typically taught in middle school, are crucial aspects of numerical competence necessary for all subsequent mathematics. To more swiftly and coherently develop the field's understanding of how to foster this critical competence, we need shared measures that allow us to compare…

Overall mathematics proficiency of fourth graders in the U.S. continues to be poor and students falling at or below the 25th percentile display declining performance (NCES, 2017), which suggests the need for schools to provide supplemental intervention supports as soon as skill gaps are observed. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of small group…