First graders' work on additive problems with the use of different notational tools

Abstract

We explored the use of three types of notational tools (paper and pencil, unlabeled tables, and labeled tables) with twenty-two children in Grade 1 who were solving Vergnaud's Category II and IV additive problems. Our results indicate that for Category II problems, which are simpler, children have a higher rate of success when they are able to solve them orally, without any notational tool. However, for Category IV problems, which are more complex, children perform better when they have access to notational tools than when they solve the problems without access to notations. Among the children interviewed for this study, unlabeled tables help them the most, followed by the use of paper and pencil.