Explore Math Misconceptions

“Children enter prekindergarten filled with ideas about numbers, shapes, measuring tools, time, and money. They formulate these ideas through their visual and auditory experiences—the expressions they hear adults say and the things they see on television, computer screens, in children’s literature, and all around them. It’s no wonder that some children develop very interesting and perhaps incorrect ideas about mathematical concepts.”

—Honi Bamberger, Christine Oberdorf, and Karren Schultz-Ferrell

In Math Misconceptions, Honi Bamberger, Christine Oberdorf, and Karren Schultz-Ferrell identify the most common mathematical errors, investigate the source of these misconceptions, and give suggestions for “undoing” these misconceptions. This sample section from chapters 1 and 2 of their book includes:

Common misconceptions that are found in most elementary classrooms
How to identify error patterns in students’ conception of addition and subtraction
Ideas for helping students understand and interpret variables

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