Learning Basic Number Concepts and Skills as Problem Solving

Learning computational skills and developing understanding of mathematics have frequendy been seen as competing objectives, but a growing body of research is finding it neither necessary nor productive to choose between skills and understanding: They are both important. In order to learn skills well, to retain them, and to be able to apply them to solve problems, skills must be learned with understanding. By the same token, learning critical skills can support the development of understanding. For example, learning what has traditionally been considered routine computational skills offers an ideal site for developing understanding of fundamental number concepts.