Meaning of the Equal

Sign
Sarah Mangan and Katy McKellar
 What We Know About Our Class

01 02 03

Grade, Type of Number of

Age, and Class Students
Pseudonyms
Resource Room for a We interviewed 3 out
Student : “A” 18, Senior of the 4 students who
Student 2: “L” 17, Senior College Readiness
mathematics class that get pulled out for
Student 3: “Z” 17, Junior services.
is inclusion-style
THE QUESTION:
8+4= _+5
What does the equal sign mean?
 Initial Student Responses

A L Z

8+4=_+5 12 7 12

Normally an equal sign

would mean the same, but
What is an equal The amount that one side is
in this case it is equal to the The same number
sign? equal to, the total
total amount on each side
(of the equation)
 Student Equal Sign Understanding Percentage

Computational
Understanding
19%
30%
33%
67%
25% Relational
Understanding
26%
Computational vs Relational View of the Equal Sign
Computational
The equal sign is viewed as
symbolizing the answer to
“something.” It signals to figure
out the equation before it, as in
A and Z’s view. All they see it as
is it means to find the answer to
8+4 which is why they get 12.
Relational
The equal sign shows a
relationship between two sides
where the quantity of the sides is
equal. L has this view because
he understands the “balance”
like understanding and the need
to calculate for the 5 on the one
side of the equation.
 Intervention Questions
Students’ answers to the intervention questions and prompts varied with their progress towards
understanding more.

Below are some questions we asked and prompts we gave to guide students towards relational
thinking:

● Try to solve the equation with the 5 on the other side (5+_ = 8+4).
● Think of the equal sign as a balance.
● Does 8+4 = 12+5?
● Why is there an equal sign in between 12+5 and 8+4? (To prompt students to consider what the equal
sign means).
● Bring in the inverse operation (subtraction vs. addition).
● Asked to further explain definition of defining the equal sign as “the same.”
● “What is the significance of the addition of the 5 after the box?”
● “By the definition of the equal sign you gave us, both sides should be the same, right?”
● Look at each side of the equation by saying “box plus five is equal to 12, so what is five plus box
equal to?
● Drew attention to chunking the equation and looking at the sides, not just numbers.

A Z
After bringing up inverse
operations to this student, she
began to make her connections and
the goal clicked in her head. A got
the answer 7 and defined an equal
sign as symbol of balance between
both sides.
Student Responses
After
Intervention
L
Z took the most interventions to solve for
No intervention was the correct answer. After getting him to
needed for this view each side of the equation separately,
student, because both he began to understand the concepts. He
his answer and his defined the equal sign as “signifying the
explanation were the same number, but the numbers involved
end goal of relational could be different."
thinking.
 Post-Intervention Percentages

Student Equal SIgn

Student Change
Understanding

67%
Computational
Understanding

Progress in Beginning of Computational

understanding Understanding
No Change in Computational Understanding
Understanding
Student Work
 Final Thoughts
● We were shocked with the fact that high school students struggled
with this equation, because it seems to be very elementary.
● From the students’ responses, it was evident that they didn't have an
understanding of the equal sign that correlates with their grade level.
○ The students only viewed the equal sign as a signal telling them to
“do something”, rather than a relationship.
● We were also surprised by the difficulty of trying to guide students
without leading them directly to the answer.
○ However, after intervening we were able to get all three students
to solve for the correct answer.

We are happy that we were able to give these students a more advanced
understanding of the equal sign!