The role of conceptual understanding in children's addition problem solving

The study examined the relationship between children's conceptual understanding and addition problem-solving procedures. Forty-eight 6- to 8-year-olds solved addition problems and, in a 2nd task, were prompted to judge whether a puppet could use the arithmetic properties of one problem to solve the next problem. Relational properties between consecutive problems were manipulated to reflect aspects of additive composition, commutativity, and associativity principles. Conceptual understanding was assessed by the ability to spontaneously use such relational properties in problem solving (Task 1) and to recognize and explain them when prompted (Task 2). Results revealed that conceptual understanding was related to using order-indifferent, decomposition, and retrieval strategies and speed and accuracy in solving unrelated problems. The importance of conceptual understanding for addition development is discussed.     

Patterns of knowledge in children's addition.

Patterns of conceptual and procedural knowledge of addition were examined in 5- to 8-year-olds (N = 80). Conceptual knowledge was measured by assessing children's responses to problems in which addends were reordered or decomposed and recombined. Problems were presented using abstract symbols, numbers, and physical objects. Children were more successful in noticing that addends had been reordered rather than decomposed and in noticing the decomposition of addends presented with objects rather than with symbols. Distinct profiles of procedural competence were derived from an analysis of children's problem-solving accuracy and strategies. Profiles were associated with patterns of conceptual knowledge and with age, although age and conceptual knowledge were not related. Findings highlight the usefulness of identifying profiles of procedural and conceptual knowledge for understanding the development of children's knowledge of addition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)