The remarkably frequent, efficient, and adaptive use of the subtraction by addition strategy: A choice/no-choice study in fourth- to sixth-graders with varying mathematical achievement levels

We investigated elementary school children’s use of direct subtraction (DS) and subtraction by addition (SBA) when mentally solving multi-digit subtractions. Fourth- to sixth-grade children of varying mathematical achievement levels were offered subtractions in one choice condition (choice between DS or SBA) and two no-choice conditions (mandatory use of either DS or SBA). Results showed that children solved slightly less than half of the subtractions in the choice condition with the untaught SBA strategy, and used this strategy more efficiently compared to DS, especially on subtractions with a small (e.g., 504-476=?) difference between minuend and subtrahend. Children were adaptive for the numerical characteristics of the subtractions and their individual strategy speed, and sixth-graders were also adaptive for their individual strategy accuracy. Our results concerning the frequent, efficient, and adaptive use of SBA, even in younger and mathematically lower achieving children, challenge mathematics instruction practices that focus heavily on DS.

Jaar van publicatie:2022

Toegankelijkheid:Open