The Effects of an Early Algebra Intervention on Third-Grade Students’ Algebraic Thinking Skills

Abstract

The importance of early algebra has been emphasized in international literature, and it has been discussed in many studies that students who are involved in a comprehensive intervention improve their algebraic thinking skills. The aim of this study was to test the effects of an early algebra intervention on the algebraic thinking skills of 3rd-grade students. The 3rd-grade intervention and control groups were included in the study, and both groups were given pre-test and post-test. In the findings, although there was no statistical difference between the 3rd-grade intervention and control group performances in the pre-test, a statistically significant difference was found in the post-test. Analysis of the students' strategies revealed that the students in the intervention group used algebraic thinking strategies more in the post-test than the control group in three big ideas, which are equality, expressions, equations and inequalities, generalized arithmetic, and functional thinking.