Jon R. Star

November 2005, Volume 36, Issue 5, Pages 404 - 411

Abstract:
In this article, I argue for a renewed focus in mathematics education research on procedural knowledge. I make three main points: (1) The development of students’ procedural knowledge has not received a great deal of attention in recent research; (2) one possible explanation for this deficiency is that current characterizations of conceptual and procedural knowledge reflect limiting assumptions about how procedures are known; and (3) reconceptualizing procedural knowledge to remedy these assumptions would have important implications for both research and practice.

Classification:
None

Additional Keywords:
Algorithm; Conceptual knowledge; Flexibility; Heuristic; Procedural knowledge