Children can work out approximate answers to sums
The findings, reported yesterday in the journal Nature, suggest difficulties in early maths learning may stem from too great an emphasis on exact numbers.
Education might be improved by building on the innate talent children have for making rough calculations, say the scientists.
For the study, five-year-old children were presented with a series of pictorial problems based on the approximate addition and subtraction of numbers between five and 98.
An example was: “Sarah has 64 candles and gives 13 of them away, and John has 34 candles. Who has more?”
Although the children had not learned about symbolic arithmetic and were yet to master the mechanics of adding and subtracting numbers, they performed above average without having to guess.
The researchers, from the University of Nottingham and Harvard University in the US, discovered the skill in children from a broad range of backgrounds.
Dr Elizabeth Spelke, from Harvard, said: “We’ve known for some time that adults, children, and even infants and non-human animals have a sense of number.
“We were surprised to see, however, that children spontaneously use their number sense when they’re presented with problems in symbolic arithmetic.
“These children haven’t begun to be taught place value or exact addition facts. Nevertheless, their natural sense of number gives them a way to think about arithmetic.”
The researchers believe their findings may be useful for teaching elementary mathematics.
Dr Camilla Gilmore, from the University of Nottingham’s Learning Sciences Research Institute, said: “Exact symbolic arithmetic takes years to learn and poses difficulties for many children. For this reason, teachers were concerned that our problems would frustrate the children, and they were amazed at the children’s success and engagement.
“Our findings suggest new possible strategies for teaching primary mathematics and making it fun.”
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