Construct a Sum: A Measure of Children's Understanding of Fraction Size

This report from the Rational Number Project concerns the development of a quantitative concept of rational number in fourth and fifth graders. In a timed task, children were required to select digits to form two rational numbers whose sum was as close to 1 as possible. Two versions of the task yiel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal for research in mathematics education 1985-03, Vol.16 (2), p.120-131
Main Authors: Behr, Merlyn J., Wachsmuth, Ipke, Post, Thomas R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addition
Children
Equivalence relation
Fractions
Mathematics education
Mean absolute deviation
Memory
Point estimators
Rational numbers
Whole numbers
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Summary:This report from the Rational Number Project concerns the development of a quantitative concept of rational number in fourth and fifth graders. In a timed task, children were required to select digits to form two rational numbers whose sum was as close to 1 as possible. Two versions of the task yielded three measures of the skill. The cognitive mechanisms used by high performers in individual interviews were characterized by a flexible and spontaneous application of concepts of rational number order and fraction equivalence and by the use of a reference point. Low performers tended either not to use such cognitive mechanisms or to apply concepts in a constrained or inaccurate manner.
ISSN:0021-8251
1945-2306
DOI:10.2307/748369