Assessment can have many legitimate purposes including:
- summarising achievement (summative assessment)
- informing learning and teaching (formative assessment)
- assisting students to evaluate their own knowledge and understanding (self assessment).
Assessment can take diverse forms including:
- tests
- written work samples
- observations
- interviews.
The mental computation strategies exercised by an individual learner vary considerably.
Strategies are chosen in response to the:
- context of problem
- numbers involved
- numbers of steps required
- location of the unknown.
Naturally, this diversity of response is greater when working with a group of learners.
To nurture mental strategies, teachers should listen to and interpret the strategies students use.
Teachers should respond to students in a way that accepts their current thinking but promotes improved fluency and flexibility.
