I agree with the two prior responses, although I am not convinced this is the intent of the educators actually presenting the material or the school districts adopting it, or if it is appropriate for children struggling with the basics. I say this because if a child is struggling with the basics of elementary school math they probably aren't going to need to be adept at figuring out codes and patterns and dealing with different types of notation. Hopefully, my kids will so I think there is some value in it for them.
I don't think it's the most efficient approach to teaching math but at worst it's a form of brain exercise, like suduko or a crossword.
