O is for Operations
Welcome to "O is for Operations"! Today, we're delving into the heart of mathematics, exploring the fascinating world of operations. Whether you're a maths enthusiast or someone who finds numbers a bit daunting, understanding operations is crucial for navigating the mathematical landscape.
Let's start with the basics: what are operations? In mathematics, operations are actions that are performed on one or more numbers to produce a result. The four basic operations are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These operations are not only the foundation of arithmetic but also serve as the foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts.
What we can often forget is that operations can be taught at the same time as developing a child’s number sense. Number Sense is the ability to relate numbers to the quantities they represent. So when we are first exploring numbers and quantities with a child, we are already covering the basic operations.
One interesting aspect of operations is the variety of terms used to describe them. How many different words can you think of for “add”? The different terms for the same operations can often lead to confusion in the classroom as teachers can unknowingly switch between different terms. And further confusion comes later on in the curriculum when minus is used to describe a negative number rather than an operation.
Often operations are taught separately, leading to missed opportunities for understanding their interconnectedness. For example, addition and subtraction are inverse operations – they undo each other's effects. Yet, they are often presented as separate entities rather than two sides of the same coin.
Similarly, multiplication and division are not only the inverse of one another but division is in fact multiplication.
Division is actually multiplication, we just do the reciprocal (1/value) of the second number before we multiply.
Example: 12 ÷ 4 = 12 × 1/4 = 3
Understanding this concept is very useful as it helps to explain fractions:
¾ is multiplication of 3 and 1/4
Understanding this relationship can help demystify complex mathematical concepts later on in the curriculum.
Also when we teach operations, addition and subtraction come first before moving onto multiplication and division and the interlink here is also lost. Consider, when you multiply two numbers together, you are essentially performing multiple additions. For instance, 3 x 4 can be viewed as adding 3 four times: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12.
I feel it is therefore important to outline these similarities and links in the hope of leading to a better understanding of them.
