Development of the cardinality principle, an understanding that the last number-word recited in counting a collection of items specifies the number of items in that collection, is a critical milestone in developing a concept of number. Researchers in early number development have endeavored to theorize its development. Here we critique two widely…

We analyzed item responses provided by a nationwide sample of 990 in-service U.S. middle grades mathematics teachers to a novel survey focused on fraction arithmetic. The survey targeted four components of reasoning in terms of measured quantities: "Referent units," "Reversibility," "Partitioning and iterating," and…

Although the complexity of children's number learning is recognized, trade books about number have been treated as a simple, undifferentiated set. This analysis of 186 children's books, however, categorized a distinct subset of books about number as "counting books." These counting books were complex with regard to portrayal of counting…

We report here on an intervention implementing a structural approach to arithmetic problem-solving in relation to learning outcomes among preschoolers. Using the fundamental principles of the variation theory of learning for developing the intervention and as an analytical framework, we discuss teaching and learning in commensurable terms. The…

Students often show difficulties in understanding rational numbers. Often, these are related to the natural number bias, that is, the tendency to apply the properties of natural numbers to rational number tasks. Although this phenomenon has received a lot of research interest over the last two decades, research on the existence of qualitatively…

This article analyzes the use of the software Grid Algebra with a mixed ability class of 21 nine-to-ten-year-old students who worked with complex formal notation involving all four arithmetic operations. Unlike many other models to support learning, Grid Algebra has formal notation ever present and allows students to "look through" that…

In this paper, we report on a comparison of the treatment of addition and subtraction of fractions in primary mathematics textbooks used in Cyprus, Ireland, and Taiwan. To this end, we use a framework specifically developed to investigate the learning opportunities afforded by the textbooks, particularly with respect to the…

The effectiveness of different concrete and pictorial models on students' understanding of the part-whole construct for fractions was investigated. Using interview data from fourth and fifth grade students from three different districts that adopted the "Mathematics Trailblazers" series, authors identified strengths and limitations of models used.…

Subtraction problems of the type a - b = ? can be "flexibly" solved by various strategies, including the indirect addition strategy ("how much do I have to add to b to get at a?"). Little research has been done on the use of the indirect addition strategy with multi-digit numbers. The present literature review entails a summary…

Two intervention studies are described. Both were designed to study the effects of teaching children about the inverse relation between addition and subtraction. The interventions were successful with 8-year-old children in Study 1 and to a limited extent with 5-year-old children in Study 2. In Study 1 teaching children about inversion increased…

Algebraic reasoning stands as a formidable gatekeeper for students in their efforts to progress in mathematics and science, and to obtain economic opportunities (Ladson-Billings, 1998; RAND, 2003). Currently, mathematics education research has focused on algebra in order to provide access and opportunities for more students. There is now a growing…