Make Math Moments Academy › Forums › Mini-Course Reflections › The Concept Holding Your Students Back › Lesson 5-3: Notice & Name – Absolute vs. Relative Thinking – Discussion › Reply To: Lesson 5-3: Notice & Name – Absolute vs. Relative Thinking – Discussion
-
Absolute thinking is counting off the difference or sum, while relative thinking is utilizing the patterns of multiplication and division to describe the relationship.
When students are using key words like more than/less than they are still thinking additively, while using words like times bigger would indicate relative thinking.