Perceiving Precedence: Order of Operations Errors Are Predicted by Perception of Equivalent Expressions

Abstract: Students often perform arithmetic using rigid problem-solving strategies that involve left-to-right-calculations. However, as students progress from arithmetic to algebra, entrenchment in rigid problem-solving strategies can negatively impact performance as students experience varied problem representations that sometimes conflict with the order of precedence (the order of operations). Research has shown that the syntactic structure of problems, and students’ perceptual processes, are involved in mathematics performance and developing fluency with precedence. We examined 837 U.S. middle schoolers’ propensity for precedence errors on six problems in an online mathematics game. We included an algebra knowledge assessment, math anxiety measure, and a perceptual math equivalence task measuring quick detection of equivalent expressions as predictors of students’ precedence errors. We found that students made more precedence errors when the leftmost operation was invalid (addition follow.... https://jnc.psychopen.eu/index.php/jnc/article/view/14103

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Perceiving Precedence: Order of Operations Errors Are Predicted by Perception of Equivalent Expressions ; volume:10 ; day:04 ; month:12 ; year:2024 ; Journal of numerical cognition ; 10 (04.12.2024)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Bye, Jeffrey Kramer ; Chan, Jenny Yun-Chen ; Closser, Avery H. ; Lee, Ji-Eun ; Shaw, Stacy T. ; Ottmar, Erin R.

Further information

• DOI: 10.5964/jnc.14103
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2502150410240.752990851268
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:29 AM CEST