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'I cannot do it without counters.'
How can schools promote understanding and confidence with number, rather than simply rote learning of number facts?
Using the Soroban to Develop Strategies for Mental Calculation
In Scotland, the perceived deficiency of students’ skills in mental calculation has been a recent cause for concern. This research project, funded by the Nuffield
Foundation, set out to explore the use of a Japanese abacus, the soroban, as a means of developing mental calculation skills in the classroom. Using a soroban encourages mental imagery and computation in conjunction with the physical movement of beads on the abacus. It therefore offers opportunities for learners to engage with number concepts and a range of mental strategies for computation. Three classes of secondary 1 pupils (12- and 13-year-olds) from two local schools were introduced to some of the basic operations on a soroban over a period of 12 weeks. The study has involved a detailed examination of the pupils’ ability to
add and subtract 2 and 3 digit numbers mentally (i.e. not using the soroban) and the strategies used both before and after the soroban lessons.
Current interests also include:
Exploring the strength of home-school partnerships developed through the
'number sacks' initiative in a number of Scottish schools. These 'number sacks' contain simple number games/ activities for pupils aged 5 to 7 to take home and use with their families. The idea has had some encouraging initial results and provides opportunities to link home and school learning. We are interested in finding out more about the best composition for such sacks, building on the response of parents to them and the level of support needed for carers to adequately support the activities at home. Another dimension of the study centres on the value of the initiative when used with children of different social backgrounds.
Articles to download:
Macintyre, Tom & Forrester, Ruth. 'Strategies for Mental Calculation', Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics Vol 23 Number 2, June 2003.
Forrester, Ruth & Macintyre, Tom. 'Using the SOROBAN to develop strategies for mental calculation', Final report of the research project for the Nuffield Foundation, 2004.
Macintyre, Tom & Forrester, Ruth. 'Teaching Mental Calculation - how successfully are strategies being learnt?', paper for ICME 10 Topic Study Group 8, July 2004.
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