This award will support the participation of eight U.S. mathematics education researchers in a joint U.S.-Japan seminar on "Cross-cultural Perspective on Computational Alternatives to Paper-Pencil Computations for the 21st Century." Paper-and-pencil computation has traditionally been central to elementary school mathematics programs in the U.S. and Japan (and elsewhere), and paper-pencil algorithms designed to produce exact answers have long dominated the way computation has been taught. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that alternative forms of computation, such as the use of calculators, mental computation, and estimation, deserve more attention in the elementary mathematics curriculum. The widespread availability and use of the hand- held calculator provides an efficient and low-cost means for finding exact answers to problems that would otherwise involve tedious paper-and-pencil calculations. Mental computation is a useful option in some problems, and has been especially valued and emphasized in Japanese mathematics education. For many real-world situations, estimation is a still better approach. Mental computation and estimation are generally recognized as making use of higher-order thinking skills as well as providing many opportunities for mathematical problem solving; both are likely to assume more significant roles in mathematics education in the years ahead. It is the purpose of this seminar to bring leading mathematics education researchers in the two countries together to describe and exchange the results of recent research on these alternatives, to identify the curricular and instructional implications of the results, and to discuss ways this knowledge can be used to establish a better balance among these computational alternatives within elementary school mathematics programs in both countries. The seminar will be held August 13-17, 1990, in Honolulu, HI under the auspices of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science Program. Co-organizers are Dr. Robert E. Reys, Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Missouri-Columbia, and Dr. Nobuhiko Nohda, Professor, Institute of Education, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
