ERIC Number: EJ1036704
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Sep
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: N/A
Schematic Representations in Arithmetical Problem Solving: Analysis of Their Impact on Grade 4 Students
Fagnant, Annick; Vlassis, Joëlle
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v84 n1 p149-168 Sep 2013
While the value of "schematic representations" in problem solving requires no further demonstration, the way in which students should be taught how to construct these representations invariably gives rise to various debates. This study, conducted on 146 grade 4 students in Luxembourg, analyzes the effect of two types of "schematic representation" (diagrams vs. schematic drawings) on the solving of arithmetical problems. The results show that the presence of schematic representations has a clear positive effect on overall student performance and that a non negligible proportion of students manage to reuse the representations encountered in order to solve new problems. While showing an effect slightly in favor of diagrams as opposed to schematic drawings, our results do not really permit us to draw any conclusions about the form that these representations should take, in particular since a differential effect was observed depending on the type of problem.
Descriptors: Grade 4, Elementary School Students, Elementary School Mathematics, Schemata (Cognition), Mathematics Achievement, Problem Solving, Mathematics Instruction, Visual Aids, Teaching Methods, Arithmetic, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Luxembourg
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A