Improvements in learning addition and subtraction when using a structural approach in first gradeShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Educational Studies in Mathematics, ISSN 0013-1954, E-ISSN 1573-0816Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]
Learning to calculate with natural numbers by structuring seems promising but how this can be taught in a sustainable manner remains an open question. An eight-month-long intervention based on the idea of using a structural approach to addition and subtraction, and particularly bridging through ten, was implemented in four Swedish first-grade classes. One goal was that by the end of first grade, students would be able to solve tasks such as subtracting 8 from 15 by using part-whole number relations. In this paper, we report on learning outcomes from task-based interviews with intervention and control groups before, immediately after, and one year after the intervention, in order to investigate long-term effects and whether students used a structural approach when solving tasks in a higher number range in the second grade. In comparison to controls, students in the intervention group showed higher increases in their learning outcomes. Moreover, the intervention group used a structural approach to a larger extent when solving tasks in higher number ranges, whereas students in the control group more commonly used single-unit counting to solve such tasks. These findings have implications both for teaching and for research on students' development of arithmetic skills.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer, 2024.
Keywords [en]
Addition, Subtraction, Bridging through ten, Structural approach, Variation theory, Mathematics
National Category
Didactics Mathematics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-65551DOI: 10.1007/s10649-024-10339-zISI: 001251876600002Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85196650437Local ID: HOA;;961876OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-65551DiVA, id: diva2:1881962
Funder
Swedish Institute for Educational Research, 2018-000382024-07-042024-07-042024-09-17