Exploring the Integer Addition and Subtraction Landscape

Book excerpt: Over the past few decades there has been increased interest in how students and teachers think and learn about negative numbers from a variety of perspectives. In particular, there has been debate about when integers should be taught and how to teach them to best support students’ learning. This book brings together recent work from researchers to illuminate the state of our understanding about issues related to integer addition and subtraction with a goal of highlighting how the variety of perspectives support each other or contribute to the field in unique ways. In particular, this book focuses on three main areas of integer work: students’ thinking, models and metaphors, and teachers’ thinking. Each chapter highlights a theoretically guided study centered on integer addition and subtraction. Internationally known scholars help connect the perspectives and offer additional insights through section commentaries. This book is an invaluable resource to those who are interested in mathematics education and numerical thinking.