How have five years of the National Numeracy Strategy affected Year 5 pupils’ written division calculations?

This digest found in

What are the implications of the study?

In completing this digest the authors began to ask the following questions about implications for practitioners:

The study concluded that pupils need timely help to move on from informal methods of division to using structured written records. Would it help to begin to focus their attention on efficient ways of recording if you ask pupils to communicate their division strategy to another pupil and then discuss as a class “what went well/even better if… ”
Chunking (repeated subtraction of multiples of the divisor) works with whole numbers and the traditional method considers tens and units separately. Might your pupils find it logical and helpful to progress from informal whole-number methods to a method that formally sets out the chunking approach?
Some girls in the study used more low-level strategies (such as repeated subtraction of the divisor for large numbers) than boys and they improved more when supported in developing a structured written method for approaching division. What informal methods do the boys and girls in your school use? Might discussions with small groups of pupils about why they choose to use particular methods throw any light on how you can best help them?

In completing this digest the authors began to ask the following questions about implications for school leaders and mathematics coordinators:

Although success in the tests could not be directly related to use of any specific strategy, pupils who could use structured methods of recording their calculations did better than pupils who relied solely on informal, unstructured methods. How do teachers in your school support pupils to structure their written records based on the pupils’ own thinking?
Low scoring pupils often tried unsuccessfully to use partitioning strategies that work with separate digits. The researcher suggested that pupils’ intuitive understanding can be better supported by working with whole numbers. Might it be useful to explore and experiment with a range of whole number and partitioning strategies in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to see which ones support pupils’ understanding?

Your path: Home > Welcome to The Research Informed Practice Site (TRIPS) > Themes > Mathematics > How have five years of the National Numeracy Strategy affected Year 5 pupils’ written division calculations? > What are the implications of the study?
Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction How did pupils differ in their division methods and success rates? What strategies did pupils use in more and less successful schools? Did boys and girls perform differently? What did the researcher conclude from the study? What were the aims of the study and how was it designed? What are the implications of the study? Where can I find out more? Definitions Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader How have five years of the National Numeracy Strategy affected Year 5 pupils’ written division calculations? This digest found in Mathematics Send to a friend Word doc 60KB Printer friendly Collate for later What are the implications of the study? In completing this digest the authors began to ask the following questions about implications for practitioners: The study concluded that pupils need timely help to move on from informal methods of division to using structured written records. Would it help to begin to focus their attention on efficient ways of recording if you ask pupils to communicate their division strategy to another pupil and then discuss as a class “what went well/even better if… ” Chunking (repeated subtraction of multiples of the divisor) works with whole numbers and the traditional method considers tens and units separately. Might your pupils find it logical and helpful to progress from informal whole-number methods to a method that formally sets out the chunking approach? Some girls in the study used more low-level strategies (such as repeated subtraction of the divisor for large numbers) than boys and they improved more when supported in developing a structured written method for approaching division. What informal methods do the boys and girls in your school use? Might discussions with small groups of pupils about why they choose to use particular methods throw any light on how you can best help them? In completing this digest the authors began to ask the following questions about implications for school leaders and mathematics coordinators: Although success in the tests could not be directly related to use of any specific strategy, pupils who could use structured methods of recording their calculations did better than pupils who relied solely on informal, unstructured methods. How do teachers in your school support pupils to structure their written records based on the pupils’ own thinking? Low scoring pupils often tried unsuccessfully to use partitioning strategies that work with separate digits. The researcher suggested that pupils’ intuitive understanding can be better supported by working with whole numbers. Might it be useful to explore and experiment with a range of whole number and partitioning strategies in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to see which ones support pupils’ understanding?