In a cross-sectional study, 160 students in Grades 2, 4, 7, and 11 were interviewed about their reasoning when solving integer addition and subtraction open-number-sentence problems. We applied our previously developed framework for 5 Ways of Reasoning (WoRs) to our data set to describe patterns within and across participant groups. Our analysis…

This article presents the results of a 7th-grade classroom teaching experiment that supported students' understanding of integer addition and subtraction. The experiment was conducted to test and revise a hypothetical learning trajectory so as to propose a potential instructional theory for integer addition and subtraction. The instructional…

This study investigated how elementary teachers in a mathematics lesson study made sense of student learning, teaching, and content, as related to using representations in teaching multidigit subtraction, and how changes occurred over time in their talk and practice. The lesson-study process paved a group talk path along which teacher talk shifted…

Fifty Brazilian children aged seven-13 were individually given addition and subtraction exercises. Counting was the preferred procedure, with use of school-taught algorithms limited. Some children decomposed numbers into tens and units and then worked at both levels. They rarely referred to previous results when doing related exercises. (MNS)

First graders were taught to solve symbolic subtraction combinations by counting up from the smaller number to the larger while keeping track of the number counted up by using one-handed finger patterns. They improved quite considerably on a timed test of the more difficult subtraction combinations. (MNS)

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…

Use of the commutativity, addition-subtraction complement, and N+1 progression principles was studied by interviewing 54 capable pupils in grades 1-3. Commutativity was used extensively at each grade, while the addition-subtraction principle to solve subtraction varied across grades, and the N+1 pattern was seldom used. (MNS)

A learning and teaching approach using base-10 blocks to embody the English named-value system of number words and digit cards to embody the positional base-10 system of numeration is described. Examines the students' understanding and arithmetic skills on the multidigit arithmetic. (Author/YP)

Calculator use by kindergarten and first-grade pupils was examined to see whether they could perceive and use the "counter button." Results indicated pupils at this age could use calculators as a tool, and further research is encouraged. (MP)

An exploratory investigation of various incorrect solution procedures used by students attempting to solve a variety of forms of open sentences is reported. The study identifies specific incorrect strategies, indicates their relative frequency of occurrence, and attempts to offer some explanation for certain of the incorrect procedures used. (MK)

The framework of Tharp and Gallimore (1988) was adapted to form a ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) Model of Mathematical Proficiency that identifies two interacting kinds of learning activities: instructional conversations that assist understanding and practice that develops fluency. A Class Learning Path was conceptualized as a classroom path…

This study: (1) documented the spontaneous derived facts strategies (DGSs) that second-grade children (N=23) used; (2) investigated how training in use of DFSs influenced the solution strategies children used to solve addition and subtraction problems; and (3) examined the role of DFSs in the transition to recall of number facts. (JN)

The relationship between first grade students' understanding of written mathematical symbolization and readiness to learn was investigated. Results suggest students' readiness influences meaningful learning of the written symbolization of addition and subtraction. (MP)

Two studies examine preschool children's knowledge of the effects of the physical processes of addition and subtraction on the relative amounts of two sets. Results indicate that most preschool children discover the nature of addition and subtraction outside of their formal education and rather than having to teach these ideas, teachers can use…

Data were collected in the problem representations and solution strategies of 30 first graders who were given a series of simple addition and subtraction word problems. The children were interviewed three times during the school year. The influence of problem structure on children's solution strategies appears more extensive and decisive than that…