Examined patterns of conceptual and procedural knowledge of addition in 5- to 8-year-olds. Found that children were more successful in noticing that addends had been reordered rather than decomposed and in noticing the decomposition of addends presented with objects rather than with symbols. Also found that profiles of procedural competence were…

Investigates children's knowledge of concrete versions of additive composition, commutativity, and associativity. Reports that in study one, four-to five-year-olds (n=24) and five- to six-year-olds (n=25) judged the equivalence of conceptually related addition problems using groups of objects. States that in study two, five- to six-year-olds…

Sixty-four adults were tested on simple addition and multiplication problems presented in Arabic digit or English number-word format. Overall, response times and error rates were much higher with the word format, but more important, presentation format interacted with arithmetic operation and problem size. (DR)

Young children benefit from activities that involve various partitions of numbers, especially the number 10. Presented are two activities that require students partition and recombine numbers to solve problems in a gamelike situations. Examples and worksheets are provided. (MDH)

Solution processes for simple arithmetic word problems are examined in three dimensions: the order of mention, the identity of the unknown, and the type of verb. The influence of mathematical and linguistic factors in these processes are discussed. (BJG)

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether children in grade 3 who differ in cognitive processing capacity add and subtract differently. The researchers drew upon information from three sources: individual results from a battery of 14 tests, an objective-referenced achievement test measuring a variety of arithmetic skills related to…

Suggestions for improving problem-solving skills of first-grade students are made after the results of five studies of addition and subtraction story problems are presented. (JT)

This guide contains classroom-tested problems designed to introduce and reinforce mathematical concepts in a quick, "fun" way. Activities emphasize the logic and reasoning skills needed to build a strong foundation in mathematics. The problems are thinking activities and require only elementary level mathematics skills. Activities are…

Presented is an example of how a child adopted an incorrect method for solution to arithmetic sentences. Methods for detecting and correcting this behavior are discussed. (JP)

A computer-generated game called Fish Chase was developed to present drill-and-practice exercises on addition facts. The subjects of the study were 19 second-grade pupils. The results indicate a computer game can be used effectively to increase proficiency with basic facts. (MP)

Discussed are the results of the second National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment concerning children's ability to solve verbal problems. The data indicate that the commonly held view that children cannot solve word problems may be an oversimplification. (Author/TG) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in…

Described are activities and games incorporating a technique of "one step" which is used with children with learning difficulties. The purpose of "one step" is twofold, to minimize difficulties with typical trouble spots and to keep the step size of the instruction small. (Author/TG)

Investigates English students' strategies for addition and subtraction problems. Suggests some teaching methods for the results. (YP)

Examines the hypothesis that problem comprehension and computational processes interact during the solving of arithmetic word problems. Results suggest the absence of any interaction between the two processes. Questions the notion that automatized retrieval facilitates problem solving, as well as assertions suggesting that increasing computational…