Abstract
Computational estimation has not yet established a place in the Kuwaiti national curriculum. An attempt was made to include it during the early 1990s, but it was dropped by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Education because of the difficulties teachers had teaching it. In an effort to provide guidance for reintroducing the concept into the curriculum, this study reports on mathematics teachers’ understanding of the meaning of computational estimation and their views about its significance in the elementary and middle school curricula in Kuwait. Data gathered from 59 elementary and middle schools teachers in Kuwait revealed that more than 60% of teachers equate computational estimation with rounding. While two-thirds of the teachers viewed computational estimation to be an important skill for daily life; only one-fifth (20%) saw it as important in mathematics education. More than half of the teachers either disagreed with the idea of teaching computational estimation or only wanted to teach it in limited situations. Most were concerned about the difficulty of learning computational estimation or feared that teaching computational estimation would cause problems with students’ development of standard algorithms for determining an exact answer. These findings reveal the challenge that mathematics educators face in introducing computational estimation into the mathematics curriculum. In order for computational estimation to be taught in elementary and middle school classrooms, teachers need to understand the concept and its value in education. Teacher education needs to focus on helping teachers better understand the concept of computational estimation and appreciate its value for instruction.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alajmi, A., & Reys, R. (2007). Reasonable and reasonableness of answers: Kuwaiti middle school teachers’ perspectives. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 65, 77–94. doi:10.1007/s10649-006-9042-4.
Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States. (2005). Mathematics for sixth grade (Vol. 1). Kuwait: Alkat for Publication.
Buchanan, A. D. (1978). Estimation as an essential mathematics skill. Los Alamitos, CA: Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development.
Carraher, T., Carraher, D., & Schliemann, D. (1987). Written and oral mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 18, 83–97. doi:10.2307/749244.
Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Davis, A., & Krajcik, J. (2005). Designing educative curriculum materials to promote teacher learning. Educational Researcher, 34, 3–14. doi:10.3102/0013189X034003003.
Dowker, A. (1992). Computational estimation strategies of professional mathematicians. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23, 45–55. doi:10.2307/749163.
Dowker, A. (2003). Young children estimating for addition: The zone for practical knowledge and understanding. In A. J. Baroody & A. Dowker (Eds.), The development of arithmetic concepts and skills (pp. 243–266). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dowker, A., Flood, A., Griffiths, H., Harriss, L., & Hook, L. (1996). Estimation strategies of four groups. Mathematical Cognition, 2, 113–133. doi:10.1080/135467996387499.
Fennma, E., & Frake, M. (1992). Teachers knowledge and its impact. In D. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 147–196). New York: Macmillan.
Gliner, G. (1991). Factors contributing to success in mathematical estimation in preservice teachers: Types of problems and previous mathematical experience. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 22, 595–606. doi:10.1007/BF00312717.
Greeno, J. G. (1991). Number sense as situated knowing in a conceptual domain. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22, 170–218. doi:10.2307/749074.
Hanson, S., & Hogan, T. (2000). Computational estimation skill of college students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 31, 483–499. doi:10.2307/749654.
Hogan, T., & Brezinski, K. (2003). Quantitative estimation: One, two, or three abilities? Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 5, 259–280. doi:10.1207/S15327833MTL0504_02.
Kenney, P. A., & Silver, E. A. (Eds.). (1997). Results from the sixth mathematics assessment of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Lefever, J., Greenham, S., & Waheed, N. (1993). The development of procedural and conceptual knowledge in computational estimation. Cognition and Instruction, 11, 95–132. doi:10.1207/s1532690xci1102_1.
Lemaire, P., & Lecacheur, M. (2002). Children’s strategies in computational estimation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 82, 281–304. doi:10.1016/S0022-0965(02)00107-8.
Levine, D. (1982). Strategies use and estimation ability of college students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 13, 350. doi:10.2307/749010.
McIntosh, A., Reys, R., & Reys, B. (1992). A proposed framework for examining basic number sense. For the Learning of Mathematics, 12, 2–8.
National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. (1977). National council of supervisors of mathematics position paper on basic mathematical skills. National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics.
National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. (1989). Essential mathematics for the twenty-first century: The position of National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. The Arithmetic Teacher, 37, 44–46.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1980). Agenda for action: Recommendations for school mathematics of the 1980’s. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989). Curriculum and evaluation for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Remillard, J. (2000). Can curriculum materials support teachers’ learning? Two-fourth-grade teachers’ use of a new mathematics text. The Elementary School Journal, 100, 331–350. doi:10.1086/499645.
Reys, R. (1986). Evaluating computational estimation. In H. L. Schoen & M. J. Zweng (Eds.), Estimation and mental computation (1986 Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) (pp. 225–238). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Reys, R. (1993). Research on computational estimation: What it tells us and some questions that need to be addressed. Hiroshima Journal of Mathematics Education, 1, 105–112.
Reys, R., & Bestgen, B. (1981). Teaching and assessing computational estimation skills. The Elementary School Journal, 82, 117–127. doi:10.1086/461246.
Reys, R., Bestgen, B., Rybolt, J., & Wyatt, W. (1982). Processes used by good computational estimators. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 13, 183–201. doi:10.2307/748555.
Reys, R., & Nohda, N. (Eds.). (1994). Computational alternatives for the Twenty-first century: Cross-cultural perspectives from Japan and the United States. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Reys, B., & Reys, R. (1989). Computation in the elementary curriculum: Shifting the emphasis. Teaching Children Mathematics, 5, 236–241. doi:10.1177/026565908900500213.
Reys, R. E., & Reys, B. J. (2004). Estimation in the mathematics curriculum: A progress report. In A. McIntosh & L. Sparrow (Eds.), Beyond written computation (pp. 38–50). Perth, Western Australia: MASTEC: Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Centre.
Reys, R., Reys, B., Nohda, N., Ishida, J., Yoshikawa, S., & Shimizu, K. (1991a). Computational estimation performance and strategies used by fifth- and eighth-grade Japanese students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22, 39–58. doi:10.2307/749553.
Reys, R., Reys, B., & Penafiel, A. (1991b). Estimation performance and strategies used by of Mexican 5th and 8th grade students sample. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 22, 353–375. doi:10.1007/BF00369295.
Rubenstein, R. (1985). Computational estimation and related mathematical skills. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 16, 106–119. doi:10.2307/748368.
Schoen, H., Blume, G., & Hoover, H. (1990). Outcomes and process on estimation test items in different formats. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 21, 61–73. doi:10.2307/749457.
Siegler, R., & Booth, J. (2004). Development of numerical estimation in young children. Child Development, 75, 428–444. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00684.x.
Sowder, J. (1992). Estimation and number sense. In D. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 371–389). New York: Macmillan.
Sowder, J., & Wheeler, M. (1989). The development of concepts and strategies used in computational estimation. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 20, 130–146. doi:10.2307/749278.
Trafton, P. (1994). Computational estimation: Curriculum and development efforts and instructional issues. In R. Reys & N. Nohda (Eds.), Computational alternatives for the twenty-first century: Cross-cultural perspectives from Japan and the United States (pp. 76–86). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Verschaffel, L., Greer, B., & De Corte, E. (2007). Whole number concepts and operations. In F. Lester (Ed.), Second handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 557–628). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Verschaffel, L., Greer, B., & Torbeyns, A. (2006). Numerical thinking. In A. Gutierrez & P. Boero (Eds.), Handbook of research on the psychology of mathematics education: Past, present and future (pp. 51–82). Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Yoshikawa, S. (1994). Computational estimation: Curriculum and instructional issues from the Japanese perspective. In R. Reys & N. Nohda (Eds.), Computational alternatives for the twenty-first century: Cross-cultural perspectives from Japan and the United States (pp. 51–62). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Research Administration of Kuwait University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alajmi, A.H. Addressing computational estimation in the Kuwaiti curriculum: teachers’ views. J Math Teacher Educ 12, 263–283 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9106-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9106-3