JONES, I. and PRATT, D., 2012. A substituting meaning for the equals sign in arithmetic notating tasks. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 2012, 43 (1), pp. 2 - 33
Three studies explore arithmetic tasks that support both substitutive and basic relational meanings for the equals sign. The duality of meanings enabled children to engage meaningfully and purposefully with the structural properties of arithmetic statements in novel ways. Some, but not all, children were successful at the adapted task and were able to connect making substitutions of notation with their existing mental calculation strategies.