Cognitive styles defined as the way by which individuals prefer to use in order to obtain, edit, utilize, remember the information are discussed as the indication of individual differences in many studies. The study aims to investigate behavioral data of mathematics teacher candidates categorized according to their cognitive styles while they…

This article describes a recent and successful initiative on teaching place value and the decomposition method of subtraction to pupils having difficulty with this technique in the 9-12-year age range. The aim of the research was to explore whether using the metaphor of selling chews (i.e., sweets) in a tuck shop and developing this into an iconic…

Interaction between pupils' cognitive styles and instructional method in effecting achievement was studied. The instructional variables were sequencing and use of manipulative materials. Ninety sixth-grade students were ranked on Sigel's Cognitive Style Test. The upper and lower 36 were defined as high and low analytic pupils, respectively. Nine…

Assesses two aspects of the validity of verbal reports in children's subtraction: reactivity and veridicality. Results reveal that students were able to able to provide veridical strategy reports, and that the instruction to verbally report had few effects on task performance. Informal findings indicate that students had less difficulty reporting…

Guidelines are presented for modifying basic instruction of subtraction facts for elementary level learning disabled students. A detailed case study is used to illustrate a five-step structured program: (1) find a way to work it out; (2) add to check; (3) learn the partner facts; (4) study families of facts; (5) review and practice. The selection…

The purpose of this study was to relate children's cognitive processing capabilities and their grade level to their performance and to the strategies they used when working addition and subtraction problems. From two sets of data which assessed memory capacity and cognitive processing capacities, six groups of children with different cognitive…

Training with a self-instruction strategy was found to be effective in teaching addition and subtraction to 52 educable mentally retarded and learning-disabled children with arithmetic deficits. Sixteen of the children, who were categorized as impulsive, showed a more reflective cognitive style following the training. (Author/JDD)

Report provides new data concerning children's accuracy as measured by previous studies and clarifies progress of first graders during entire year on difficult single-digit addition and subtraction problems. Discussion focuses on advantages of an adding on interpretation of subtraction and the importance of emphasizing conceptual understanding…

Compared use of derived fact strategies involving addition and subtraction by 20 learning-disabled students (LDSs) from an intermediate level self-contained class to 22 grade-3 normally achieving students (NASs). LDSs did not differ from NASs in verbal fluency or use of alternative strategies. (Contains 20 references.) (MDH)

Compares the development of two students' understanding of addition and subtraction. One student's understanding is based on memorized rules and the other's on understanding the concept of place value. Discusses the effects of different goals for instruction and the importance of understanding place value. (MDH)

Relates research findings on the way primary-grade students communicate mathematical ideas through the use of symbols to a framework for students to investigate the part-whole relationship of quantity. Discusses children's problem-solving abilities, linking word problems and symbols, the importance of context for understanding symbols, and the…

After a year of instruction, 70 kindergarten children were individually interviewed as they solved basic, multistep, and nonroutine word problems. Thirty-two used a valid strategy for all 9 problems, and 44 correctly answered 7 or more problems. Modeling provided a unifying framework for thinking about problem solving. (Author/MDH)

Reports on a study in which (n=40) fifth graders solved and retold one-step compare word problems. Students performed better, had shorter response times, and retold problems correctly more frequently on consistent-language problems than on inconsistent-language problems. (Contains 36 references.) (MKR)

Describes a program in second-grade Dutch mathematics classes that emphasizes mental addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers up to 100. Deals with a strategy of counting by 10s from any number. (Contains 56 references.) (RLB)

Children begin school with the ability to use their informal and implicit conceptual knowledge to guide their problem solving, but shift to the use of superficial strategies in their attempts to solve word problems as they progress through school. This paper describes a study designed to investigate the effects of an instructional sequence that…