This article discusses arithmetic instruction for students with disabilities that differs substantially from that traditionally used in special education. It provides a framework from cognitive psychology that has possible implications for rethinking current traditional teaching approaches, and demonstrates a basis from which changes in curriculum and instruction can enhance the cognitive processing of students. It challenges the current practice of teaching computation as rote memorization and questions the extent to which there is only one way to teach an algorithm. The article emphasizes an approach that promotes problem solving, reasoning, and communication as advocated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and provides an outline of ideas that are in keeping with the philosophy of the Standards for Curriculum and Evaluation as supported by NCTM.
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