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The equal sign

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  • The equal sign
  • Espresso
  • 50: Covariational reasoning
  • 49: Teaching and learning equivalence
  • 48: Early development of functional thinking
  • 47: Developing concepts of pattern
  • 46: Building and breaking 2D and 3D shapes
  • 45: Teaching logical reasoning
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01 December 2020

Infographic displaying Solutions offered to the question 8 + 4 = ? + 5 by U.S school pupils at different ages

What does research suggest about teaching and learning the equal sign?

  • Use of the phrase equal sign instead of equals sign may help to remind teachers and students of its multiple meanings beyond just “perform a calculation”
  • Students should have opportunities to encounter multiple properties of equality in their use of the equal sign as part of an intentional focus on its uses
  • Developing a solely operational view of the equal sign (reading it as “gives” or “makes”) can suggest misconceptions to students; this is currently very common in primary school mathematics in countries such as the UK and the US
  • Encouraging students to develop a relational and a substitutive view of the equal sign through explicit instruction helps to develop their mathematical intuition around order, change and equivalence, thus preventing some misconceptions
  • Reading the equal sign as “is the same as” helps to promote a relational view of its use
  • Developing a sophisticated understanding of the equal sign, including relational and substitutive views, is the basis for successful understanding of algebra

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