Bringing out the Algebraic Character of Arithmetic

Terc Inc, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

We propose to longitudinally investigate children's algebraic concepts and notation from grades 2 through 4 in order to understand how they develop in accordance with their understanding of number and quantity. Classroom teaching experiments in mathematics will provide a setting for the work. The research will be largely exploratory, relying upon analyses of classroom episodes, clinical interviews, and written productions by the children. This methodology yields more than a convenience vantage point for observing children's development; it influences their very mathematical learning and thinking.