The "Reasoning Algebraically about Operations Casebook" was developed as the key resource for participants' Developing Mathematical Ideas seminar experience. The thirty-four cases, written by teachers describing real situations and actual student thinking in their classrooms, provide the basis of each session's investigation into the…

For many students, developing mathematical reasoning can prove to be challenging. Such difficulty may be explained by a deficit in the core understanding of many arithmetical concepts taught in early school years. Multiplicative reasoning is one such concept that produces an essential foundation upon which higher-level mathematical thinking skills…

A dedicated, non-symbolic, system yielding imprecise representations of large quantities (approximate number system, or ANS) has been shown to support arithmetic calculations of addition and subtraction. In the present study, 5-7-year-old children without formal schooling in multiplication and division were given a task requiring a scalar…

In the September 2010 issue of "Mathematics Teaching," Tom O'Brien offered practical advice about how to teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and contrasted his point of view with that of H.H. Wu. In this article, the author revisits Tom's examples, drawing on his methodology while, hopefully, simplifying it and giving it…

Many students encounter difficulty in their transition to advanced mathematical thinking. Such difficulty may be explained by a lack of understanding of many concepts taught in early school years, especially multiplicative reasoning. Advanced mathematical thinking depends on the development of multiplicative reasoning. The purpose of this study…

Presents a covariation approach to learning exponential and logarithmic functions based on a primitive multiplicative operation labeled splitting that is not repeated addition. Suggests that students need the opportunity to build a number system from splitting structures and their geometric forms. (30 references) (MKR)

It is difficult for students to unlearn misconceptions that have been unknowingly reinforced by teachers. The examples "multiplication makes bigger,""pi equals 22/7," and the use of counter examples to demonstrate the numerical property of closure are discussed as potential areas where misconceptions are fostered. (MDH)

Provides methods of teaching negative number operations, including addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Presents examples and activities for the operations. (YP)

This article discusses the classroom use of discovery of number pattern. Provided are examples of a table of squares, multiplications of numbers, and algebraic expressions. (YP)

P-adic or g-adic sets are sets of elements formed by linear combinations of powers of p, a prime number, or g, a counting number, where the coefficients are whole numbers less than p or g. Discusses exercises illustrating basic numerical operations for p-adic and g-adic sets. Provides BASIC computer programs to verify the solutions. (MDH)

This two-volume teacher's guide is to be used with a first-semester, third-grade mathematics program. The program is in large part the outgrowth of involvement with children and was influenced by information gathered in an extended pilot project conducted nationwide during 1975-79. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools are…

This two-volume teacher's guide is to be used with a second-semester, third-grade mathematics program. The program is in large part the outgrowth of involvement with children and was influenced by information gathered in an extended pilot project conducted nationwide during 1975-79. The manner of presentation and the pedagogical ideas and tools…

Provides a bibliography of children's literature exploring mathematical concepts: classification; place value and numeration systems; counting, addition, and subtraction; multiplication and division; fractions; estimation; big numbers; geometry; measurement; and games and puzzles. Highlights one book for each concept, suggests class activities,…