What is it about?
The multiplication algorithms taught to elementary students are made to help students find answers quickly, but why the algorithm works and how it relates to multiplication is not widely known. For example, one intuitive meaning of multiplication is that of iterated, or, repeated, addition. In this paper, we look at the ways a visual, block-based, programming activity uses the concept of iteration to help second-graders learn multiplication. The results of the study observing second-grade students use visual programming and iteration to set up and solve multiplication story problems. We found that generally students enjoyed these activities and found them helpful during the learning process.
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Why is it important?
If students don't understand the basic building blocks of mathematics then they will struggle to perform well in more advanced topics. One way to help students learn and strengthen their understanding of these basic building blocks is by using guided Visual Programming activities.
Perspectives
I hope we can reflect on our teaching methods of mathematics and determine if incorporating visual programming technologies will help facilitate the learning process.
Eric Bagley
Utah State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Second-grade Students’ Use of Visual Programming to Learn Multiplication: Leveraging the Concept of Iteration, February 2022, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3511861.3511870.
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