Sharing Teaching Ideas: A “No Borrow” Subtraction Algorithm
Mathematics Teacher Learning and Teaching PK-12 · 1982
If an algorithm is to be truly of low stress, then it most certainly must address itself to the immediate problems of failure. The low-stress subtraction algorithm presented in this article is a result of personal observation of the frustrations and difficulties encountered by my ninth-grade mathematics students. The algorithm eliminates the traditional borrowing process. Students may “rest" in the middle of the problem and do not have to perform all the subtraction steps in a prescribed manner from right to left.