Helping Students to Connect Subtraction Strategies Improves Mathematical Reasoning for Students and Teachers

Abstract

After administering an end of unit assessment written by the school’s math program, teachers of three second grade classes in a New York City school noticed a majority of the students had not demonstrated mastery of subtracting two, two-digit numbers. The teachers worked with the school’s math coach to implement an instructional unit that required students to make connections among three different subtraction strategies. Implementation of the unit resulted in improved mathematical reasoning for students and teachers in addition to an improvement in students’ subtraction skills.