Journal of the Mathematics Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association
Volume 27 Issue 2, September 1988
6 – 13
Overcoming Conceptual Obstacles
Barry Onslow
Evidence now shows that on some fundamental concepts, children make little progress, even after a substantial amount of mathematics teaching (Hart 1981). For example, on the concept illustrated in the following problem, a study by Hart showed that students failed to develop greater understanding even after years of instruction.