Mental mathematics counts

The incorporation of mental mathematics in the instructional framework has made a difference in the mathematical ability of students attending the Queens Intermediate School in Pasadena, Texas. Mrs. Margaret Lamar's seventh- and eighth-grade classes have set aside the major portion of one class...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Arithmetic teacher 1970-04, Vol.17 (4), p.337-338
Main Author: AUSTIN, JOHN C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of variance
Arithmetic
Elementary school mathematics
Focus on research
Junior high schools
Mathematics education
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Summary:The incorporation of mental mathematics in the instructional framework has made a difference in the mathematical ability of students attending the Queens Intermediate School in Pasadena, Texas. Mrs. Margaret Lamar's seventh- and eighth-grade classes have set aside the major portion of one class period a week for mental mathematics exercises. The students are assigned problems to bring to class for that day. The problems are to include the concepts that the class has learned and are engaged in at the time. An example of a typical problem is as follows: Begin with 8, add 4, multiply by 2, subtract 6, divide by 3, subtract 2, extract the square root, multiply by 3 2 , multiply by 10, and subtract 5. Answer: 175. This activity, often conducted on a competitive basis, has been given credit for the school's winning every interdistrict number-sense contest for the past four years. A research study conducted recently further validates this method of instruction. A random sample of one hundred boys and one hundred girls who attended the Queens Intermediate School was designated the experimental group. They were statistically compared to a similar sample of students from the same attendance area that was designated as the control group. The control group attended the traditional junior high school two years earlier than the experimental group and received a traditional mathematics program without a systematic instruction in mental mathematics.
ISSN:0004-136X
DOI:10.5951/AT.17.4.0337