Från antikens algoritmer till dagens klassrum

Abstract

This paper is a literature review that examines how good mental calculation skills benefit pupils, which could work as a valuable learning tool for future teachers. The study addresses four key questions: ‘What are the advantages of proficient mental calculations?’, ‘What strategies exist for mental calculation skills?’, ‘How can teachers accommodate their teaching to develop pupils’ mental calculation skills?’ and ‘What has arithmetic looked like in different eras and what algorithms have been used?’. Through literature searches in search engines, scientific articles were found, which formed the basis for the result segment. This was divided into two parts: A historical and a didactic overview. The historical overview begins with the earliest example of human calculation, progresses through Ancient Egypt and Babylon, and concludes with Treviso-arithmetic. The didactical overview examines the relationship between mental calculation and number sense, flexibility, and estimation, in addition to various mental arithmetic strategies. The study concludes that mental calculation is valuable both in mathematics education and in everyday life. Furthermore, mental calculation has a correlation to strong number sense. By applying strategies such as estimation, teachers can promote an understanding of multiple strategies, which could lead to flexibility.