4 ASPECTS OF STRATEGIC CHANGE - CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHILDRENS LEARNING OF MULTIPLICATION

This study reports a longitudinal investigation of French 2nd graders' acquisition of single-digit multiplication skill. Speed, accuracy, an d strategy use were assessed 3 times within the year when children lea rned multiplication. The data showed that improvements in speed and ac curacy that generally accompany learning can reflect at least 4 types of specific strategic changes: introduction of new strategies, increas ing use of the most efficient existing strategies, more efficient exec ution of each strategy, and more adaptive choices among strategies. Th e data also showed substantial continuities in learning: At all 3 poin ts of measurement, children used multiple strategies, used retrieval m ost often on the same classes of problems, and used repeated addition on the most difficult problems. Stable individual differences were als o apparent. The findings supported a number of predictions of Siegler and Shipley's (1995) adaptive strategy choice model. Implications for understanding learning, arithmetic, and strategy choice processes are discussed.