The Role of Cognitive Strategies in the Transition from Counting to Retrieval of Basic Addition Facts

This study examined the hypothesis that children who use cognitive strategies in solving simple addition questions develop greater proficiency in addition than children who fail to employ such strategies. Forty non-strategy users were provided with instructional experiences to facilitate the development of cognitive strategies. At post-test 20 children demonstrated cognitive strategy use, while 20 did not utilise these strategies. Strategy users demonstrated greater retrieval at post-test. However, no other indicators of greater proficiency in addition were detected.