Order of operations: The Myth and the Math

Six thought-provoking issues challenge misconceptions about this

iconic topic

Arbitrarily Four
Rigid Universal Memory Can be taught by
designed long operation
triggers procedurally
ago steps

- Teaching the order
of operations as a
- Aspects
rigid set of rules are
i) Long-standing mathematically
misguided
consensus on the
order. - Opportunity to
consider the
ii) An arbitrary
properties of the
order, a convention.
operations are
- Engage students in missed.
exploring equivalence
- Students fail to
and see why operations
explore opportunities
are ordered as they are.
which is an efficient
approach, a critical
component of
procedural fluency.
- Popular memory
triggers such as
PEMDAS/PEDMAS
- Operations are - (1) Parenthesis,
common but - It helps student to (2) exponents,
differences exist remember and effectively (3) multiplication,
within the tiers and apply but it caused major (4) addition and - Teaching in
description. misconceptions about the subtraction. procedural way
order. cause the students
- Variety of - Grouping
to misunderstand
terminology in - Major misconceptions symbols are not
the subject easily.
different regions operation
i) Students imply
such as brackets, symbols. - Makes it
that there are six
order, division, complicated for the
steps in the order. - Three operation
multiplication, students to digest
steps, the use of
addition, subtraction, ii) Students the procedures
a triangle as a
BEDMAS, BIDMAS. erroneously and understand
way to illustrate
assume that the concept.
- The order of the hierarchy of
multiplication
operation is not operators
precedes division
universal. (Ameis, 2011)
and addition
precedes
substraction.