CULTURAL TOOLS AND MATHEMATICAL LEARNING - A CASE-STUDY

This study investigates the role that four second graders' use of the hundreds board played in supporting their conceptual development over a 10-week period. Particular attention is given to the transition from counting by ones to counting by tens and ones. The analysis indicates that the children's use of the hundreds board did not support the con struction of increasingly sophisticated concepts of ten. However, chil dren's use of the hundreds board did appear to support their ability t o reflect to their mathematical activity once they had made this conce ptual advance. The constructivist perspective exemplified in the analy sis is constrasted with a sociocultural perspective on mathematical de velopment. The differing roles attributed to cultural tools are clarif ied, and potentially complementary aspects of the two perspectives are discussed.