Building the Foundation: Whole Numbers in the Primary Grades
The 23rd ICMI Study
Author(s):
Maria G. Bartolini Bussi,
Xu Hua Sun
Open Access: BY 4.0
Publication Date
Available in all formats
Publisher: Springer Nature
Description
Table of contents
Keyword(s):
mathematics teaching and learning in the primary school,
whole number arithmetic,
23rd ICMI Study,
international perspectives on primary math education,
social-cultural diversity of early mathematics teaching,
institutional constraints of early mathematics,
whole number thinking, learning and development
This twenty-third ICMI Study addresses for the first time mathematics teaching and learning in the primary school (and pre-school) setting, while also taking international perspectives, socio-cultural diversity and institutional constraints into account.
One of the main challenges of designing the first ICMI primary school study of this kind is the complex nature of mathematics at the early level. Accordingly, a focus area that is central to the discussion was chosen, together with a number of related questions. The broad area of Whole Number Arithmetic (WNA), including operations and relations and arithmetic word problems, forms the core content of all primary mathematics curricula. The study of this core content area is often regarded as foundational for later mathematics learning. However, the principles and main goals of instruction on the foundational concepts and skills in WNA are far from universally agreed upon, and practice varies substantially from country to country. As such, this study presents a meta-level analysis and synthesis of what is currently known about WNA, providing a useful base from which to gauge gaps and shortcomings, as well as an opportunity to learn from the practices of different countries and contexts.
Description
Subject(s):
mathematics teaching and learning in the primary school,
whole number arithmetic,
23rd ICMI Study,
international perspectives on primary math education,
social-cultural diversity of early mathematics teaching,
institutional constraints of early mathematics,
whole number thinking, learning and development
This twenty-third ICMI Study addresses for the first time mathematics teaching and learning in the primary school (and pre-school) setting, while also taking international perspectives, socio-cultural diversity and institutional constraints into account.
One of the main challenges of designing the first ICMI primary school study of this kind is the complex nature of mathematics at the early level. Accordingly, a focus area that is central to the discussion was chosen, together with a number of related questions. The broad area of Whole Number Arithmetic (WNA), including operations and relations and arithmetic word problems, forms the core content of all primary mathematics curricula. The study of this core content area is often regarded as foundational for later mathematics learning. However, the principles and main goals of instruction on the foundational concepts and skills in WNA are far from universally agreed upon, and practice varies substantially from country to country. As such, this study presents a meta-level analysis and synthesis of what is currently known about WNA, providing a useful base from which to gauge gaps and shortcomings, as well as an opportunity to learn from the practices of different countries and contexts.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Front Matter
- Part I. Introductory Section
- Part II. Working Group Chapters and Commentaries
- Part III. Panels
- Part IV. Plenary Presentations
- Back Matter