Development of division strategies for Year 5 pupils in ten English schools (Updated)

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Thinking skills
Mathematics

Authors

Anghilieri, J., Homerton College, University of Cambridge

Publisher

British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2001, pp.85-103

Introduction

Making sense of division- how do children progress?

Current practice emphasises the teaching of informal mental calculations to work out division problems, rather than written computation from the outset. But how do children learn to relate to the use of written methods so they can develop effective calculation strategies?

In this study of a sample of Year 5 pupils in ten schools, progress was monitored as taught methods of division were introduced over the course of five months. The author suggests that the use of formal methods may inhibit children’s understanding of mathematical problems unless it is underpinned by sound mental strategies. She found that increase in the use of formal algorithms created more errors, finding that only half the attempts to use them were effective and that efficient but less formal methods of problem-solving produced more successful results.

The author concludes that the use of formal written methods should be deferred until children have the confidence in their own informal methods and are aware of the likelihood of the correct answer.

'Otherwise it is likely to inhibit performance and have a negative effect on the development of mathematical thinking.'

This study makes use of various specialised words and phrases, for definitions of these click here.

Keywords:
United Kingdom; England; primary schools; pupils; curriculum; mathematics; mathematical problems; numeracy; Year 5; classroom teaching; thinking skills; pedagogy; problem solving; learning strategies; arithmetic

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction What did the researchers set out to learn? What came out of the study? Which pupils were involved and what were they involved in? What were the effects on pupil performance? What does the study help us to understand about the teaching and learning of division? What does the study mean for teaching? The way forwards? Definitions of technical terms Implications Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To view/remove/add notes and save your collated digests click here Get Word Reader Development of division strategies for Year 5 pupils in ten English schools (Updated) This digest found in Thinking skills Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 70KB Printer friendly Authors Anghilieri, J., Homerton College, University of Cambridge Publisher British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2001, pp.85-103 Introduction Making sense of division- how do children progress? Current practice emphasises the teaching of informal mental calculations to work out division problems, rather than written computation from the outset. But how do children learn to relate to the use of written methods so they can develop effective calculation strategies? In this study of a sample of Year 5 pupils in ten schools, progress was monitored as taught methods of division were introduced over the course of five months. The author suggests that the use of formal methods may inhibit children’s understanding of mathematical problems unless it is underpinned by sound mental strategies. She found that increase in the use of formal algorithms created more errors, finding that only half the attempts to use them were effective and that efficient but less formal methods of problem-solving produced more successful results. The author concludes that the use of formal written methods should be deferred until children have the confidence in their own informal methods and are aware of the likelihood of the correct answer. 'Otherwise it is likely to inhibit performance and have a negative effect on the development of mathematical thinking.' This study makes use of various specialised words and phrases, for definitions of these click here. Keywords: United Kingdom; England; primary schools; pupils; curriculum; mathematics; mathematical problems; numeracy; Year 5; classroom teaching; thinking skills; pedagogy; problem solving; learning strategies; arithmetic