Efforts to meet the needs of children's learning in arithmetic has led to an increased emphasis on the teaching of mental calculation strategies in England. This has included the adoption of didactical tools such as the empty number line (ENL) that was developed as part of the realistic mathematics movement in the Netherlands. It has been claimed that the English use of the ENL differs from that of the Dutch. In this study curriculum guidance materials are examined to investigate these differences. Two examples of teaching sequences are provided to illustrate them further. It is proposed that the different uses stem from different pedagogical principles. The implications of the English use are discussed in relation to the presentation of mental calculation strategies in an algorithmic way.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	empty number line, mathematics, arithmetic, pedagogy
Research Division:	Education
Research Group:	Curriculum and pedagogy
Research Field:	Mathematics and numeracy curriculum and pedagogy
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Teaching and curriculum
Objective Field:	Pedagogy
UTAS Author:	Murphy, C (Dr Carol Murphy)
ID Code:	121626
Year Published:	2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:	5
Deposited By:	Education
Deposited On:	2017-10-06
Last Modified:	2017-11-02
Downloads:	0