Is Arithmetic Useful for the Teaching and Learning of Algebra?

• Published in: Contemporary education dialogue Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 137 - 159
• Main Author: Banerjee, Rakhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Delhi, India SAGE Publications 01.07.2011
• Subjects: symbol manipulation; algebra; structure of expressions; algebraic thinking; Arithmetic
• ISSN: 0973-1849; 2249-5320
• DOI: 10.1177/097318491100800202

Teaching and learning of algebra has been one of the most debated areas in mathematics education. There are various ways to introduce algebra, but the most common practice has been to introduce algebra after students have undergone some amount of arithmetic instruction. In recent years, a fresh look is being taken at this approach. In this article, I wish to review a section of research literature which deals with identification of difficulties which students face in learning algebra, and their connection to arithmetic. Further, I will discuss various kinds of teaching experiments carried out so that students make more sense of the algebraic symbols and operations on them, thus explicating the arithmetic–algebra connection. Based on this review of literature, I will argue for a better and broader understanding of the arithmetic–algebra connection and will broadly describe the kind of arithmetic that is needed to be able to make a transition to algebra.