In this study, we examined special education students' use of indirect addition (subtraction by adding on) for solving two-digit subtraction problems. Fifty-six students (8- to 12-year-olds), with a mathematical level of end grade 2, participated in the study. They were given a computer-based test on subtraction with different types of problems.…

Does solving subtraction problems with negative answers (e.g., 5-14) require different cognitive processes than solving problems with positive answers (e.g., 14-5)? In a dual-task experiment, young adults (N=39) combined subtraction with two working memory tasks, verbal memory and visual-spatial memory. All of the subtraction problems required…

This article outlines how a Brisbane independent school, Clayfield College, improved the ability of its Year 3 students to solve addition and subtraction word problems by utilising a schematic approach. It was observed that while students could read the words in the text of a written problem, many had difficulty identifying the core information…

Recent studies showed that kindergarten children solve addition, subtraction, doubling and halving problems using the core system for the approximate representation of numerical magnitude. In Study 1, 34 first-grade students in their first week of schooling solved approximate arithmetic problems in a number range up to 100 regarding all four basic…

We present a research report on addition and subtraction conducted with Down syndrome students between the ages of 12 and 31. We interviewed a group of students with Down syndrome who executed algorithms and solved problems using specific materials and paper and pencil. The results show that students with Down syndrome progress through the same…

The Common Core State Standards (2010) involve the demonstration of conceptual knowledge of numbers and operations. For students who struggle with mathematics and have not responded to instruction, it is important that interventions emphasize this understanding. In order to address conceptual understanding of numbers and operations in meeting the…

Word Problems those are also named as "Story Problems" which are well known to the students around the world. In this book there are 26 chapters which encompass diversified problems of four basic mathematical rules--addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. These problems may help students to practice more and more as well as…

Some current models of mathematical cognition (Dehaene, 1992; Campbell & Clark, 1992) make strong claims about the code in which arithmetical operations are solved, basing themselves on how these operations were originally acquired or are most frequently employed. However, data on acquisition and use are often derived from anecdotic reports…

The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary results on the use of schema-based strategy instruction to teach addition and subtraction word problem solving to a fourth grade student with autism. The student was taught to use schematic diagrams to solve three types of addition and subtraction word problems. A multiple probes across…

Mr. Carter is about to start a two-day lesson on subtraction of integers with his sixth-grade prealgebra students. He plans to use contextualized problems that will allow his students to develop an interpretation of subtraction that involves the idea of "difference." This article outlines one way to teach students develop number line…

Subtraction has two meanings and each meaning leads to the different strategies. The meaning of "taking away something" suggests a direct subtraction, while the meaning of "determining the difference between two numbers" is more likely to be modeled as indirect addition. Many prior researches found that the second meaning and…

Fifteen elementary and secondary teacher candidates solved sixteen integer addition and subtraction problems during think-aloud interviews. Investigators further probed participants' solution strategies as well as what they noticed first when starting a new problem. Task analyses of participants' solutions led to the creation of two distinct maps…

What does it look like to "understand" operations with fractions? The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) uses the term "understand" when describing expectations for students' knowledge related to each of the fraction operations within grades 4 through 6 (CCSSI 2010). Furthermore, CCSSM elaborates that…

The purpose of the study was to examine differences in early numerical competencies, as well as subtraction skill, as a function of children's mathematics difficulty (MD) status: computational difficulty (CD), word problem-solving difficulty (PD), concurrent difficulty (CDPD), or neither difficulty (i.e., typically developing; TYP). Based on…

The authors used the operand-recognition paradigm (C. Thevenot, M. Fanget, & M. Fayol, 2007) in order to study the strategies used by adults to solve subtraction problems. This paradigm capitalizes on the fact that algorithmic procedures degrade the memory traces of the operands. Therefore, greater difficulty in recognizing them is expected…