It is investigated if the mental computation strategies in the research literature are enough to satisfactorily categorize the mental computation strategy use by preservice elementary teachers in multiplication on one- and two-digit natural numbers. The preservice elementary teachers use of mental computation strategies is measured operationally…

In this paper it is investigated if the mental computation strategies in the research literature are enough to satisfactorily categorize the mental computation strategy use by preservice elementary teachers (PETs) in subtraction on two-digit natural numbers. The PETs' use of mental computation strategies is measured operationally with a written…

This study examined adults' frequent, efficient and adaptive use of direct subtraction (DS) and subtraction by addition (SBA) in mental multi-digit subtraction with the choice/no-choice method. Participants were offered subtractions in one choice condition (choice between DS and SBA) and two no-choice conditions (mandatory use of either DS or…

Background: South African teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and number sense are markedly low, evidenced in national and international research. There is a call for supporting teachers in developing their knowledge and confidence in teaching mathematics. Aim: The aim of this article is to share how pre-service teachers (PSTs) used the…

Research from other STEM disciplines suggests that a systems thinking approach can motivate students to learn content meaningfully and in a way that empowers them to use their knowledge to benefit the world around them. However, systems thinking is not currently widespread in chemistry education. As instructors' beliefs influence their classroom…

The notion that mental arithmetic is associated with shifts of spatial attention along a spatially organised mental number representation has received empirical support from three lines of research. First, participants tend to overestimate results of addition and underestimate those of subtraction problems in both exact and approximate formats.…

Computer programming is essential nowadays but still challenging to learn due to its invisible thinking. Current programming environments are mostly designed for operating on computers directly to learn concrete programming, but this approach lacks the support for clarifying learners' thinking processes. On the other hand, using paper and pens…

Background: There is a concern in South Africa that pre-service teachers do not have the required knowledge to teach mathematics in primary school and to develop learners' number sense. In this study, pre-service teachers taught the mental strategy of bridging through ten through a structured teaching sequence from the Mental Starters Assessment…

In mathematics, problem-solving can be considered to be one of the most important skills students need to develop, because it allows them to deal with increasingly intricate mathematical and real-life issues. Often, teachers attempt to try to link a problem with a drawn diagram or picture. Despite these diagrams, whether given or constructed, the…

Background: The Mental Starters Assessment Project (MSAP) seeks to address poor performance in Grade 3 mathematics. The programme focusses on eliminating inefficient counting methods and promoting strategic mathematical skills, including numerical sense, mental calculation and rapid recall skills. Additionally, MSAP supports teachers' professional…

Objective: When students learn or solve problems, attentional resources are depleted; rest breaks may restore cognitive functioning in support of learning. Research framed by attention restoration theory holds that exposure to natural environments may be another means to restore attentional resources. The study investigated the effects of…

Successful problem solving begins with constructing mental problem representations and the identification of problem characteristics to clarify the solution. The purpose of the current study is to examine the design principles of learning supports promoting mental problem representation in the math problem solving setting. We investigated the…

In language learning, it is important to foster students' computational thinking and improve their skills of building arguments and dialectical structure, teamwork, and decision accuracy. This is especially so in English language courses which aim to promote students' cultural learning interest, creative thinking, and oral presentation.…

In Asia, some children are taught a calculation technique known as the 'mental abacus'. Previous research indicated that mental abacus experts can perform extraordinary feats of mental arithmetic, but it disagrees as to whether the technique improves working memory. The present study extended and clarified these findings by contrasting performance…

As computational thinking becomes increasingly essential, the challenge of designing effective teaching approaches to foster students' abilities in this area persists, especially for higher order thinking skills. This study addresses this challenge by proposing and implementing a peer assessment-based Scrum project (PA-SP) learning approach in…