ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses common mistakes in math instruction and explains the misunderstandings behind them. In teaching computational estimation, the first problem Jane encountered was the definition of estimation. Although an educated guess can guide a person in producing a closer figure, still it's not quite what a computational estimate is and doesn't quite capture its connotations. Without going through the written procedure, an estimate may be obtained in many different ways, very often through some type of simplification. After discussing the key characteristics of computational estimation, Jane started giving her children multiplication problems of two double-digit numbers for them to estimate. It's true that there can be many different answers for estimating an arithmetic problem. Estimation is a useful tool both in and outside of the school setting. A rule of thumb is that estimation shouldn't take longer than calculating the exact answer to the same problem.
