Leveraging Number Lines and Unit Fractions to Build Student Understanding
Insights from a Mixed Methods Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15401115 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Catherine D Bruce (0000-0003-4758-6478, Trent University, corresponding author), Tara Flynn (Trent University), Shelley Yearley (Trillium Health Centre), Zachary Hawes (0000-0003-4055-7607, University of Toronto) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 322-339 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Journal of Science Mathematics and Technology Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1492-6156 • E-ISSN: 1942-4051 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s42330-023-00278-x |
| OpenAlex | W4385271167 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 45 |
Fractions remain a challenging area of school mathematics at every stage of education, with impacts that extend far beyond the school years. For this study, researchers engaged in classroom-based design research over a 6-year period to investigate effective strategies for teaching fractions with Canadian students. Participants included 86 teachers (representing 12 collaborative research teams spread across 8 school boards) and over 2000 students from Grades 3–10. Quantitative analyses revealed significant pre-post gains in students’ fraction knowledge. Qualitative findings revealed some best practices in fractions instruction, including the importance of focusing on unit fractions and number lines to facilitate student sense-making. These findings lead to a detailed discussion of the benefits of (1) focusing on unit fractions as a central construct that allows students to meaningfully work with fractions and make connections across ideas of increasing complexity; (2) leveraging powerful representations as objects-to-think-with that combine concrete and abstract thinking about fractions; and (3) using a design research methodology in the context of collaborative work with teachers
Construct (python library · Context (archaeology · Fraction (chemistry · Mathematics education · Multimethodology · Pedagogy · Qualitative research · Science education · Social science · Sociology · Unit (ring theory · Chemistry · Cognitive and developmental aspects of mathematical skills · Computer Science · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques · Psychology · Spatial Cognition and Navigation
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |