Contemporary thinking about place value is in a considerable state of flux. The extensive work undertaken in The Netherlands poses a serious challenge to the dominant approaches to most Western curriculum in terms of place value. Whereas place value has assumed a dominance in most curriculum design and is reified through the use of place value manipulatives (such as MABs or Dienes blocks), its value is under threat. The Dutch curriculum focuses the first 4-5 years of schooling on developing number sense through student-generated strategies and leaves the teaching of formal place value until later years. This is in direct contrast to most Western curriculum. The effectiveness of the Dutch model is now being recognised and their approach is now becoming adopted in many countries including the UK and USA. Both models of teaching place are represented through dynamic models in this module.
Spreadsheets can provide an excellent tool for enhancing students' mathematical thinking. Much like the calculator, they can replace the tedium of calculations while providing an avenue for students to see, create, extrapolate, identify, explore. In using spreadsheets, teachers are able to create learning environments where students can actively engage with the mathematics of the work, rather than do the work of mathematics.
Spreadsheet with addition:
