This study was conducted to obtain information related to mental computation from students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 in Western Australia. The numbers of subjects were 163, 163, 163 and 152 in years 3, 5, 7, and 9, respectively. The research was designed to provide three different perspectives of mental computation: (1) a survey of the kinds of…

Study of the performance of nearly 2,000 students in grades 2 through 9 on a variety of mental computation tasks using visual and oral presentation found a wide variation in performance within the sample of each country at each grade level. (33 references) (MKR)

More mental computation and organized and enjoyable activities to practice such skills are advocated. Suggestions for brief sessions involving challenging questions and quick recall of number facts are presented. The author presents and comments on several sample lessons designed for a wide range of student abilities. (MP)

In this article, the author presents the results of a state project that focused on the effect of developing informal written computation processes through Years 2-4. The "developing computation" project was conducted in Tasmania over the two years 2002-2003 and involved nine schools: five government schools, two Catholic schools, and…

Focuses on mental strategies for computing in the middle grades. Describes what they are and why they are important. Refers to relevant research and presents some teaching ideas for developing these strategies beyond the primary grades. Includes a discussion of the role of mental calculation in everyday life both past and future. Contains 27…

Proposes a framework that identifies the components of number sense and the attributes of students who possess it. Discusses various aspects of three areas where number sense plays a key role: number concepts, operations with numbers, and applications of number and operation. (MDH)