This resource has been designed for teacher education students and practising teachers. It aims to show the importance of mental computation in the school curriculum and sets out goals for balancing mental, written and calculator computation.

Mental methods used by children are described and some common errors and misconceptions are revealed. Targetted teaching strategies are suggested and class worksheets and diagnostic tests are also provided.

Outline, aims and rationale for this resource
General principles of mental computation

Teaching computation in the calculator era

Subtraction
Multiplication
References