Flexibility and adaptivity of prospective primary school teachers in multi-digit addition and subtraction

This cross-sectional study investigated the flexibility and adaptivity of prospective primary school teachers in Bremen (Germany). A total of 182 adults, half of whom were at the beginning of their teacher education and the other half at the end, completed a paper-pencil test with addition and subtraction problems in the number domain up to 1000. The results revealed that, particularly at the beginning of their degree program, many prospective teachers struggled with flexible and adaptive calculation, despite being asked to solve the problems in a clever way. In comparison, however, participants at the end of their teacher education showed greater flexibility and adaptivity, since they often preferred shortcut strategies for problems with special characteristics. This cross-sectional data provides initial indications for the need for specific emphasis on flexible and adaptive calculation in teacher education.