ERIC Number: ED379153
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1991
Pages: 270
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Understanding Children's Development of Rational Number Concepts: Final Research Report.
Owens, Douglas T.; Menon, Ramakrishnan
This document reports on a small-group teaching experiment whose goal was to understand how fourth- and sixth-grade children develop concepts of common and decimal fractions. Both the Grade 6 and the Grade 4/5 children were taught common and decimal fractions through discussion and by using manipulatives, beginning with basic concepts of common fractions. Results showed: (1) common fractions were initially interpreted as parts of a whole, using region models; (2) Grade 6 students seemed to find manipulatives helpful, but Grade 4 students used manipulatives less and seemed more interested in completing as many questions as they could without recourse to manipulatives; (3) students were able to relate common and decimal fractions; (4) most students could develop fraction and decimal concepts, learn the associated operations meaningfully, and perform satisfactorily on end-of-unit tests; and (5) teachers felt they had learned much from their involvement in the project, including: the need for clarification of roles of researcher and teacher, importance of student interviews, usefulness of journals and student-constructed questions, and judicious use of worksheets. Appendices contain reports of lessons in Grade 4 and Grade 6, project evaluation by teachers and researchers, pre- and post-test questions, interview questions and transcripts, and worksheets. Contains 14 references. (MKR)
Descriptors: Decimal Fractions, Educational Change, Elementary School Students, Foreign Countries, Fractions, Grade 4, Grade 6, Intermediate Grades, Interviews, Manipulative Materials, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction, Number Concepts, Observation, Rational Numbers, Student Journals, Teaching Methods
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Ottawa (Ontario).
Authoring Institution: British Columbia Univ., Vancouver. Dept. of Mathematics and Science Education.
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A