Kids dont need arithmetic instruction to solve approximate math problems

A new study has found that children impulsively show a sense of numbers when presented with symbolic math, and can perform approximate math without arithmetic instruction.

Washington, May 31 : A new study has found that children impulsively show a sense of numbers when presented with symbolic math, and can perform approximate math without arithmetic instruction.

The study, conducted at Harvard University, by researchers from the University of Nottingham and Harvard, demonstrated that children are able to crack approximate addition or subtraction problems involving large numbers even before they have been introduced to arithmetic.

The study, published in the journal Nature, suggests that children do not need to learn either the logic of place value or the addition table in order to execute approximate addition and subtraction.

The authors suggest that if children's aptitude for estimated calculation could be built upon in the classroom, both, the standard of elementary education in mathematics and children's interest in the subject, can be enhanced.

Researchers presented five-year-old children with a string of illustrated problems, in the form of situations that involved the approximate addition and subtraction of symbolic numbers between five and 98. A subtraction question, for example, stated: "Sarah has 64 candies and gives 13 of them away, and John has 34 candies. Who has more""

Although the children had not yet been taught about symbolic arithmetic, and were yet to master the mechanics of symbolic addition and subtraction, they performed well above chance on the tests and without resorting to guessing. The children's incapability to present an accurate solution to the problems proved that their approximate performance was not dependent on exact knowledge of the numbers.

The authors, lead researcher Camilla Gilmore, now at the University of Nottingham, with Elizabeth Spelke, Marshall L. Berkman Professor of Psychology and Shannon McCarthy, a research assistant in the department of psychology, both of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, found evidence for these abilities in children from a wide range of backgrounds, when studies were conducted in both a quiet "laboratory" setting and in the classroom.

The study also gauged whether children used their nonsymbolic number sense in order to perform the approximate addition and subtraction. Adults, children and even infants are receptive to number in arrays of dots and sequences of sounds. These number representations exhibit distinctive limitations: arrays of dots can be numerically compared, added, or subtracted only approximately, subtraction is less precise than addition, and numerical comparison becomes more difficult when the ratio of the two numbers involved in the problem approaches one.

The children involved in the study showed these same characteristics with regard to the symbolic addition and subtraction problems.

"We've known for some time that adults, children, and even infants and nonhuman animals have a sense of number. We were surprised to see, however, that children spontaneously use their number sense when they're presented with problems in symbolic arithmetic. These children haven't begun to be taught place value or exact addition facts. Nevertheless, their natural sense of number gives them a way to think about arithmetic," says Spelke.

The authors suggest that their findings may be helpful for the teaching of elementary mathematics.

"Exact symbolic arithmetic takes years to learn and poses difficulties for many children. For this reason, teachers were concerned that our problems would frustrate the children, and they were amazed at the children's success and engagement. Our findings suggest new possible strategies for teaching primary mathematics and making it fun," Gilmore says.

ANI