Replacing persistent counting strategies with cooperative learning

Abstract

International audiencePersistent counting strategies often come along with a weakness in arithmetic. Due to this, the central objective is to replace counting strategies by teaching how to realize, recognize and use structures. Within the context of the project ZebrA1 (Zusammenhänge erkennen und besprechen – Rechnen ohne Abzählen) cooperative learning settings were developed to encourage children to use different interpretations of patterns and structures instead of counting. Results show that working in pairs of children with heterogeneous competences is productive for both partners. Especially activities like " comparing " and " sorting " are suitable to make children interact about mathematics and help them become aware of mathematical structures