Abstract
One of the aims of compulsory education is for students to adequately handle basic maths, owing to its importance in their future professional and personal lives. However, mechanical knowledge of an algorithm may not be sufficient to train future citizens with critical and creative thinking if it is not accompanied by a comprehensive understanding of the concept. In this regard, existing research shows that a high percentage of students in primary education commit errors when they attempt subtraction. However, little is known about whether adults perform the same calculations correctly. In this context, 535 university students completed a questionnaire composed of 20 subtractions. The results showed that only one quarter of respondents performed the subtractions correctly. Analysis of error type showed that the most frequent mistakes corresponded to the systematic errors made by primary-level students. This may indicate that the types of errors committed during early learning persist over time, implying that subtraction may not have been adequately taught. New educational approaches and initiatives are required to encourage the teaching and learning of subtraction in a more reasoned and critical manner during early learning.
Highlights
Current educational trends hold that it is necessary to offer an education in which students can reason, face problems and difficulties and develop creativity and critical thinking
Elementary education continues to be dominated by classes that favour rote learning [4] which could be explained by the fact that most of the tasks that are conducted in the classroom come from textbooks which are mostly automated tasks [5,6,7]
Subtraction tends to be considered, following rote learning, as a mechanical process that consists of applying algorithmic steps in the appropriate order [8]
Summary
Current educational trends hold that it is necessary to offer an education in which students can reason, face problems and difficulties and develop creativity and critical thinking. They need classroom training to live and work as citizens in a world where they will not encounter exact paths or solutions, or will have to make decisions that differ from the experts when they need to purchase life insurance, organise holidays or decide which house to live in [1,2,3]. Subtraction tends to be considered, following rote learning, as a mechanical process that consists of applying algorithmic steps in the appropriate order [8]. The importance of the subject understanding the conceptual basis of the algorithmic process of subtraction has been described as essential in many studies (see [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16])
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