Finding Order in Early Grades Addition and Subtraction Problems With Negative Integers

• In Event: 73.058 - Students' Mathematical Thinking: Grades K-5

Abstract

According to Case’s (1996) framework, children must coordinate the concepts of order and magnitude to solve addition/subtraction problems. As part of an experimental design (pretest, intervention, posttest, addition and subtraction training, plus follow-up), forty-seven first graders worked one-on-one with researchers either doing control activities with negative numbers or playing an order-focused linear board game with negative numbers. Based on the assessment results, we present qualitative and quantitative descriptions of students’ addition and subtraction strategies, with special attention paid to ordering skills. Results indicate that ordering was an integral component of success with addition/subtraction problems. A visual presentation of a numbered path led to more students successfully adapting whole-number counting strategies, though on a subset of negative-integer problems.

Authors

• Laura Bofferding, Purdue University

• Andrew Joseph Hoffman, Purdue University